


Kill la Kill: Kintsukuroi

by Feleanne



Category: Kill la Kill (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Kiryuuin Ragyo is absolutely horrible, Slight Divergence, Trans Female Character, Transphobia, also smut wont ever happen sorry but i dont do that, eventual ryumako i promise, tags will be updated as story goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:28:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 49,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28513449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feleanne/pseuds/Feleanne
Summary: "Sumisorano was synonymous with unwanted, unloved, abused, and cowardly."Young Sumisorano Hoshi had only wanted one thing; to be who they truly wished they could be. After sudden encounters with a girl with a red streak, and a rich heir, she begins to learn how to care not only for herself, but learn once again to trust.(Transgirl OC focused, multiple POV's throughout the story)
Relationships: Kiryuuin Satsuki/Original Character(s), Kiryuuin Satsuki/Sumisorano Hoshi (OC)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. Blue Eyes

Today had been boring, drab, and outright just  _ dull _ .

Sat alone in her tiny room, was young Sumisorano Hoshi. No older than 7, and already living pretty much alone.

Her family had been… absent. More accurately completely gone from her life, but she liked to think they would come back. Hopefully they would, hopefully.

Oh… why did they leave?

That… was a story.

She was quite young, and honestly any rendition of the tale would always, at some point, lead to the same conclusion, past all the over-exaggerated and here-there storytelling of a child.

They left because of her… because of what she  _ was _ .

She told them she was a girl, and couldn’t take being called a boy anymore. She was blunt, and direct.

Her family was as well, as the leather struck home.

She did not like to think about it, not at all. 

Her back was adorned with many, many scars, formed from leather bound lashings. Held down as her ‘father figure’ laid into them with a harsh grip.

She often wore bandages that wrapped around her body like a modern mummification, to not only keep the wounds from being subjugated to infection- as the family could not afford anybody to find out- and to keep it a constant.

Their cloak, the cowl to hide the abuse, was to use repetition. People would notice, but how long would they care if it was consistent?

Not a lot did. They were children. And the teachers never knew, because they were never told. The children around her only knew if they had caught sight of a vagrant bandage strap and spread that knowledge around like the plague.

Sumisorano Hoshi was quiet, she was reserved… and she kept it that way.

She didn’t want to be hurt… didn’t want to be close. To avoid those who she thought would keep them safe to hurt her like her parents had. But why did she hope they would return?

Because at least then, she had people in her life who she was attached to.

But now, she was alone.

Her parents dropped her off at a school, and never came back.

She even walked all the way home that day, to find the house empty.

She lived instead, in a tiny dormitory type room. The school wasn’t a boarding school, but it nonetheless had rooms for children to stay.

They, however, were mostly reserved for kids who had parents who did not care for their children, and left them in the care of a Matron instead.

There was also the fact that some children were there because they had no parents, nor home to return to.

Sumisorano was one of those children.

She lives there as long as she can keep her grades up, that was the only requirement for care. The Matron was the teacher, so she understood. 

The school was big, and had multiple teachers, but she was hers, so she had to pull her weight and follow her rules. She was the closest thing she had to a Mom now, though. So she can manage.

One thing that didn’t, was her crippling issue with trust, and her overbearing problem with touch. 

Touch was synonymous with pain. Trust was synonymous with distrust.

Sumisorano was synonymous with unwanted, unloved, abused, and cowardly.

Was she a coward? She felt so, being unable to stand up for herself in any way, being unable to work up the courage to stop any bullying.

Why was she bullied?

She had very abnormal hair, for one, because kids were willing to make fun of another over petty little things. Her hair was curly, and her hair was minty.

It was a light, minty green color that if shined upon almost looked brilliant silver, with deep streaks of a darker hue inlaid, making her head look not unlike a minty swirl of soft serve custard. Her eyes were almost annoyingly contrasting- but she liked them regardless. They were a light pastel hue of pink, bordering on near-white but enough hue to give it distinction.

She, whether she liked it or not, was always going to be noticed. She was a 4-Eyes with ice cream hair, skittish like a hurt animal and always enjoyed books over people. 

Books, unlike people, couldn’t hurt her.

Books, unlike people, weren’t judgemental. They couldn’t talk back, they were very much her own kingdom. Her imagination ruling over her army of words ingrained in hundreds of pages, that felt to her like rows of her loyal, nonjudgmental subjects.

And here she was; queen of her kingdom. Commanding the words on her page to form rows of enrapturing tales that tickled her mind in ways no moving picture quite could. She loved all forms of fiction, even ones that moved, but nothing could beat a story book that grabbed at her heart.

They gave her visions of another world. One where she wasn’t a scarred, worthless girl.

And one… that didn’t have to deal with the Matron’s loud tone.

A knuckle rapped on her door, and the Matron opened without saying she would come in first.

Sumisorano was still, ‘technically male’, after all. They didn’t get the privilege of a “I’m coming in” before one would enter.

“Sora,” the matron began, using her shortened ‘nickname,’ because her name was, for some reason, unbearably long. “You’ve got someone to keep you company.”

Holding her hand, was a young girl, no younger nor older than she was. She looked… pensive. Her brilliant blue sapphire eyes stared at her own unpolished rose quartz.

Sumisorano didn’t know what about this girl struck her the way she did… but, she just felt  _ different _ .

For one, that bright red hair streak was definitely unique.

“This right here…” with her free hand, she gestured to the young girl. “Is Ryuko Matoi… and young Matoi, this, is Sumisorano Hoshi.”

Neither girl said a word to each other, just staring in interest… watching, even.

“Ryuko?” The Matron spoke up, drawing the girls attention to her. “I’ll get your things, okay? You just get along with Sumisorano.”

The red-streaked girl- Ryuko, nodded.

The Matron exited the room by closing the door, and the only thing that encompassed the room now was silence.

“Hello…” Sumisorano spoke up first, lightly placing the book down after dog-earing the page. “My name is Sumisorano… but it’s kind of long so…”

The red-streaked girl nodded with a small chuckle. “Yah… how about I call you “Sumi” instead?”

Sumi…

“...I-I’d like that a lot, actually…” The minty girl smiled, absentmindedly curling a strand of hair around her finger. “Matron calls me “Sora” instead… but I don’t really like it…”

What was up with this girl? She’s so… easy. Why was she so easy to just exist around? She should feel pensive, afraid possibly, but…

_ Those eyes _ …

“Yah, “Sora” doesn’t fit ya’, you look more like a “Sumi” to me!” Ryuko chuckled again, mostly because of the slight rhyme at the start, but also for reasons they couldn’t parse.

Ryuko just seemed so… friendly. Her hair told one story but her eyes told another.

A girl with raven-black, slightly curly strands of hair that arced down like water but a red streak that broke it apart like a fallen redwood.

That streak was unlike anything she’d ever really seen on any other kid… It was Ryuko’s and Ryuko’s alone.

“Hello?” Ryuko waved in front of her face, realizing that she just got herself caught in a tizzy of her own thoughts.

“A-Ah, s-sorry!!” Sumi waved frantically, trying to keep space from the girl.

She seems trustworthy, but trust is nothing. She could still hurt her, so distance was a must… regardless of how she already viewed the girl in the minutes they’ve laid eyes on her.

“Why’re you backin’ up?” Ryuko asked with a tilted head, watching as Sumi slowly pushed the chair- and herself- away from the girl.

“I-I just… d-don’t like being touched…” The minty girl responded at a near whisper, looking away and downcasted to the floor.

“‘s okay, I don’t mind.”

What?

Ryuko backed off instantly, instead waltzing over to the other empty bed that had been in the room, and untouched since Sumi herself arrived. It was only cleaned of dust on the weekends, never was it used.

She climbed up onto the bed, and laid right down on one of the two provided pillows. “Comfy…” she whispered, before immediately falling right to sleep with a slight snore.

“...Um…?” Sumi gaped, unsure of what words to use at the moment. Did she just… accept her personal boundaries, and then immediately fell right onto the bed and  _ already  _ began to sleep?

Most kids would hear they didn’t want to be touched and didn’t care- they’d do what they wanted anyways because Sumi would never retaliate, only let it happen. 

Ryuko was the first to care enough not to.

She didn’t know what to say… what to think of this mysterious girl… other than that she just felt  _ different _ from anybody else she’s known.

Different entirely, different in her own way.

She knew, right then, that she was different, she was Ryuko. And while she may be jumping to assumptions, she could only imagine in her sapphire eyes…

That Sumi, was Sumi, and not Sumisorano.

* * *

Now, why was Ryuko so different from everybody else?

After having spent a month with the girl, she understood the answer to that question just a bit better than before.

Ryuko, was very kind, very passionate, and very respectful of others. She understood her boundaries and how she disliked physical touch other than the occasional helping hand, and she was okay with that.

She didn’t mind Sumi’s reserved nature of explaining her own life and sometimes some likes, and Ryuko never pried for information, she listened to what she was willing to tell and shared plenty of her own experiences.

She apparently lived in a mansion for a few years, until her father had sent her to the same school Sumi was in by chance. She never had a mother, and her father was somewhere. She was the same as Sumi, in that regard; no parents and fending for themself.

And just like Ryuko had for her, she didn’t pry on information the other didn’t want to share, despite all the questions she had. Questions should be asked and answered when the other was ready, that’s how it should be and thankfully the two thought the same way.

They had grown close, a lot closer than Sumi thought would’ve been possible with any living being, other than maybe her own reflection- if that counted.

Sumi was an academic and caught on easily, Ryuko needed that extra push to get it, but she got it nonetheless. Sumi helped the frustrated Ryuko with homework, and Ryuko helped the reserved Sumi with opening up slowly but surely with her, and slowly began to talk more and more about what she liked and enjoyed- and some of her more darker secrets.

She enjoyed books, movies, sometimes manga if she was feeling adventurous, and mostly spent her time reading. She had grown fond of books once she found out their captivating pull they held never failed to draw her into the novel’s world, and to act as though she was in place of it’s protagonist. 

But, she had also grown scared of other people in turn. Being so heavily betrayed meant that those who she couldn’t simply read about could hurt her in a way books just couldn’t, unless a paper cut was one of those things.

It took a while of working up trust… but Sumi had finally trusted the other girl enough to show her what she thought was her darkest secret.

“P-Please, don’t tell anybody about this, okay…?” She silently pleaded as she turned her back to the girl, and slowly began to work the shirt she wore up her body.

“I promise, Sumi, I won’t.” The raven-haired girl nodded back, giving the other girl all the time she needed.

As she worked the fabric up her back, they revealed the bandage that wrapped around her torso multiple times over, somewhat musty with days of wear and tear and sweat, but otherwise completely void of any marks or specs of blood.

She grasped a vagrant strand of bandage, and slowly began to unfurl the mess that became part of her being for who knows how long.

Ryuko gasped as her back was slowly revealed, many lash scars in the shape of crude, four-point stars were etched into her body, encompassing nearly all of her back in varying sizes, and some adventuring far enough to go to the base of her neck. 

She was branded heavily in scars that looked for the most part healed, but still red and sore.

“I… My parents weren’t… that fond of me…” She began, slowly working out the correct words to say to her close friend. “They… didn’t like who I was… who I wanted to be…”

The girl slowly choked back sobs as she started to rattle, quivering on the spot. “I… I told them that I… I wanted to be a girl, and… and…”

Ryuko slowly made her way to sit next to the girl, having previously been situated on her bed and had been sitting intently for Sumi’s heart being laid bare for her.

There was one thing that changed, one that neither girl expected.

The only one Sumi could feel comfortable with being touched by, was Ryuko.

Her touch was warm, it was gentle, it was kind… it was Ryuko.

Her hands wrapped around Sumi’s neck- as to avoid the scars- and the other girl melted right into the embrace, and began to sob against the other girl’s chest, and sobbed hard.

Ryuko had known only bits of the minty girl’s past, having gathered enough information to know that their parents weren’t the best of people… but she never thought that  _ this _ was what that truly meant.

She hadn’t grasped the concept that one could truly inflict pain upon another until now.

And, she also knew in that moment, what she meant to Sumi.

What it meant to have trust…. Bonds unbreakable. She trusted Ryuko with her heart. It was only fair she trusted her with her own in return.

Before she even knew it, she began to cry as well- just as hard if not more so.

The two girls wept, heavy and emotional tears that poured down like jets of pressurized salt-water. They held each other close and wept like they had nobody else.

Because they didn’t.

They had each other… and that was what mattered most.

* * *

As months passed, the two were only more and more inseparable. Sumi had been Ryuko’s shoulder, as Ryuko had been Sumi’s. When Sumi was bullied, Ryuko was quick to step in and take charge of the situation with her loud words and quick thinking. But, that didn’t deter anybody from stopping entirely.

Sumi was still a target, and that quickly shifted to Ryuko as well. Albeit, they only had one insult- that red streak in her hair. Because they were children, they took things too far due to a lack of understanding restraint, and constantly doubled down despite how worthless it was to continue as much as they had.

It barely got to Ryuko- she was smart enough to point out how absolutely worthless the insult was over time as it was used more and more, but they never stopped regardless.

It was never an issue- they were words that meant absolutely nothing to either one. Ryuko’s arrival changed a lot for the minty-haired girl, and one of those changes, was thicker skin. She could handle words better, take insults with even more salt than before.

But… there was one thing that hadn’t changed. She was still weak, she hadn’t had any need to really exercise, and so…

A hand pushed her to the ground, circle-rimmed glasses clattered against the dirt, book skidded out of reach and her back panged with pain from scars still raw- even after all this time. 

“Not so tough without your little  _ girlfriend _ , are you?” The young boy sneered, his goons at his sides chuckling along with him.

“G-Ghk…” All Sumi could do was wince in pain, slowly scrabbling against the dirt to help her up, making sure to keep her back away from the bullies ahead of her. 

They were right, she wasn’t so tough without Ryuko at her side. Where she was… she honestly wasn’t sure in the moment. All she could really think about at the moment was impending doom.

A book slapped her across the face, one of her prized novels she thought couldn’t hurt her. She could already taste blood in her mouth, she bit hard down on the side of her cheek at the sudden impact and now all she could taste was iron and blood diluted with siliva.

“Such a wimp…” One of the goons chuckled, dropping the book to the dirt and looking down at the beaten child with disgust. “Honestly, without her  _ little girlfriend _ , she’s worthless…”

Children were fickle things. They were blunt, they were direct, and they were ruthless. They had barely any restraint if nobody was holding them back, and sadly, in this case nobody was.

All Sumi could do was swallow the blood, and continued trying to back away, and only ended up being faced with a kick that sent her sprawling to her side- face landing right in the dirt.

“Finish ‘em, Sachiyo!!” One of the kids called, chuckling almost maniacally as one of the other kids 'whooped’ them on.

Bullying never had gotten this far before. They were mostly verbal, and the most physical it had ever gotten were pushes and shoves. But Sumi being left to fend for herself, must’ve meant to anybody else that they were an easy target to push around.

In this moment, Sumi had realized what she truly was. A wimp with no means to defend themselves- relying on her friend like a crutch.

Slapping his fist into an open palm, the biggest of the kids- apparently this “Sachiyo-” loomed over her, his shadow imposing and threatening enough to bring fresh tears to the young mint-ette’s eyes.

She held up her hands- and prayed to whatever god could be listening for a savior.

Tears rolling down her face, she kept wincing in anticipation of the hit, that for some reason never came. It took her a moment to realize such, and she slowly parted her hands, and opened her eyes.

The boys were running away, sounding like they were almost crying themselves. Despite this, a shadow still loomed over her, one that looked a lot different in comparison to the slightly chunky boys who were just previously before her… 

Instead it was of a much taller, and much more broad man. 

One who wore a perfect white suit, that looked almost too perfect, snake-pattern white dress shoes to match as well and a stare that looked cold, yet warm… 

And right by his side was a much smaller girl, one that looked only a year- give-or-take- older than her, pure black locks of straight hair that went only down to their shoulders, and stern blue-sapphire eyes that looked almost eerily similar.

“Were those… ruffians, messing with you, kid?” The man in white spoke up, adjusting his tone slightly mid sentence. His voice was gruff, and leaked experience. His eyes were a deep brown, nearly the same shade as his hair- which was a deep coal black, looked to be cut short, and was slicked back.

It took Sumi a moment to understand what exactly was going on, but after scrambling her hands around for a moment, the other young girl understood her intentions, and calmly knelt down to pick up the other’s glasses- a few paces away, and handed them directly to her.

“Th-Thank you…” Sumi mumbled, situating the circle rims on her face once more- only to pout slightly when she realized one lens was cracked. “They… they were, yes…”

“It’s a shame...” The young girl spoke with a tone that was soft, yet held such a hardness and resoluteness that it felt almost forgein. Her own outfit was similar in color to the man she was accompanied with, a white blouse with a long, white skirt. “Children harming others, with no gain in mind.”

“It’s honestly pathetic.” The man in white nodded, crossing his arms. “You’d think that it’s something only kids would do, but plenty of adults do it too. It’s a real… darn shame.” He corrected again, very clearly holding back the words he  _ intended _ to say, instead of what he truly wished to speak.

“Would you like some assistance?” The young girl asked, holding out a hand for Sumi to take- which she reluctantly did along with a nod. “Alright… do you wish to join me and my associate? You do not seem to be accompanied by anybody else.”

“I…” Sumi began, slowly working through her head what that could exactly entail as she picked up her novel, and wiped it of any dirt. “I suppose I can… if you don’t mind the intrusion.”

“It’s most certainly not one.” The girl smiled, and promptly bowed. “My name… is Satsuki Kiryūin. And this…” She motioned with her free hand to the towering man at her side. “Is my personal bodyguard… who you may just refer to as Kiryu.”

The man simply nodded, and put his arms at his side once more. “You look pretty… banged up. We could take you to a clinic nearby, if you want.”

“I-I’m fine, really!!” Sumi stuttered, holding her hands out in protest. “I-I’m already intruding enough, it’s okay…”

“Nonsense.” Kiryūin chuckled, before slowly starting to walk down the sidewalk- grabbing hold of Sumi’s hand gently, ushering her along with her. “We were simply out for lunch, but noticed a scuffle on our way, so I was hoping we could ‘rescue’ the defenseless child from those… bullies.”

Sumi regretted tensing up at the touch- as light as it was, it was still a bit too much for a random stranger. Thankfully, the other girl took notice of such, and lightly let go. “My apologies, that was rather uncalled for, wasn’t it?”

“O-Oh, no-no, it’s okay… I’m just…” The minty girl stuttered, trying to work down the nerves that took over her body, adjusting their glasses before they fell to the earth again. “I don’t like… getting touched...”

Kiryūin ‘hmm’d’ at the statement, but gave them a comforting smile. “It’s alright, I don’t either. So I suppose it was rather hypocritical of me to do that, wasn’t it?”

“It certainly was.” Kiryu scoffed behind the two, keeping a respectable distance but still following close, arms kept in his dress pants’ pockets. “I’d say be more careful, but you’re already too careful for your own good.”

“That I am, and I pride myself quite a lot on that.” They smiled again, choosing instead to walk beside Sumi, close, but not too close. “Actually… I don’t think I got your name.”

“O-Oh, I’m sorry… I-It’s a mouthful, though…” Sumi sheepishly chuckled, absentmindedly adjusting her glasses once more. “I-It’s Sumisorano… Sumisorano Hoshi.”

“That is indeed a mouthful.” The raven-haired girl nodded. “It’s also quite… perplexing. As a name on its own it’s incomplete without the ‘Hoshi.’”

“I-I really don’t like it…” She sighed back. “I just prefer to go by “Sumi,” it’s so much easier that way…”

Kiryūin nodded again, looking ahead down the sidewalk as she did. “Sumi is quite the good name, a fitting one as well.”

“It’s a girl’s name, though. Why not “Sora” instead?” Kiryu asked, slipping out a phone from his blazar’s pocket, checking who knows what, before quickly putting it back again. 

“I-I just like Sumi a lot…” The mint-ette mumbled back, head now downcast. “And... I-I’m a girl, you know…”

She intended to say that lower than it actually came out, much lower.

But unfortunately it was overheard by the other two... which in turn earned her a confused stare from the man behind her- his intense gaze was enough to inform her of its presence, strong enough that it almost burned the back of her head like a laser. 

The other girl at her side looked slightly confused as well, but much more contemplative than questioning at the statement.

“S-Sorry, my bad…” The man apologized, letting out a bit of actual emotion... albeit it was confusion, something Sumi wished she never had to deal with when it came to  _ that  _ topic.

Now she felt like an idiot, bringing that up to complete strangers thanks to her mouth speaking faster than she could think. She was already imposing enough- she felt horrible now that she brought  _ that  _ up as well- god, was she hyperventilating? 

“Are you alright?” Kiryūin asked, a worried expression on their otherwise neutral visage.

“Y-Yeah, I-I’m alright…” She replied back, although unsure why it came out slightly slurred and confused… Wait...

When did everything start to look so blurry?

* * *

Sumisorano Hoshi had never been particularly strong- that much was obvious. She could be pushed around easily, she could be easy to overpower, her immune system was horrible, the most she’s ever carried in weight are stacks of books.

But it didn’t help that she rarely saw it fit to eat, let alone somehow manage to forget to eat as well.

As it turns out- she probably passed out in the middle of the sidewalk due to a lack of nourishment, and getting hit in the side of the head by a particularly thick book earlier didn’t help.

When she awoke laying down on a hospital’s bed, she could already tell that today was not a particularly good day.

Hyperventilating led to her managing to pass out… which did not look that particularly good when in front of two strangers who were supposedly of… much higher class than she was. Especially when she managed to insert herself into their day somehow, and likely ruin their plans because of her weakness. She wasn’t sure when she had, all she remembered was falling almost face first into some concrete.

“Ah, it seems you’ve come around.”

The only person in the room at the moment- was Kiryūin, who seemed very much relieved, whether it was because Sumi had woken up, or some other reason, she wasn’t quite sure.

She could see that her shirt was removed, some bruises shining between layers of bandage, and a small IV hooked up to her arm… she should feel a lot more pensive and self conscious… but she doesn’t.

“Forgive me for being so imposing… but we took you to a clinic that was nearby as soon as you had fallen. My associate recounted the scuffle to the doctor and they had to assess the damage, but we were entirely unaware of the…”

She looked a bit afraid to continue the recounting of events, considering that topic led to the scars on her back.

“I-It’s okay…” Sumi nodded, trying to keep her eyes trained on the younger girl- and away from the thing in her arm. “I’ve been dealing with it for a while… it’s embarrassing, but not new…”

“You’ve had those scars for a while…?” Kiryūin asked, her expression slowly turning into that of shock.

“Y-Yeah… my… my parents weren't the nicest of people…”

“That… is quite unfortunate.”

Kiryūin did not look that happy with that information, but at the same time they looked sympathetic. A question for another day, should they ever get to ask it.

“They were… okay parents…” Sumi started, trying to rack her brain for any good they had done other than giving her a roof and food. “I… I told them that I didn’t like… being…”

She took a moment to gather her thoughts and breath- this was going to be something. “I didn’t like being a boy… and they didn’t take too kindly to that…”

Gesturing with a thumb to her back, she sighed. “I-I hope you don’t think those were self-inflicted… or anything… I had to deal with it a lot and... I don’t think they ever healed quite right…”

“The doctor said as such, yes…” Kiryūin nodded, looking at the other girl with clear worry in her eyes. “They did what they could now, but you’d likely need to keep going back for checkups on it.”

“Wh-What did they do…?” The mint-ette gasped, turning her head around- only to see that a majority of her back was covered with bandage.

“They looked over each one individually, because some were worse off than others, and gave you plenty of silicone sheeting to cover them all. They couldn’t do any surgeries, so they did what they could.” She recounted, her voice even but expression still that of concern. “Was I intruding too much? It is of no detriment to me, but I didn’t wish to force you into anything too big.”

This was… a lot to take in. She basically just got a free professional check-up thanks to this random stranger who she met… how long was she out for, exactly?

“I-It’s okay… I think surgery would’ve been a bit much, too…” Sumi chuckled, turning to face the other girl once more. “I… how long have I been out for, exactly…?”

Glancing up at the clock, she saw that it was late- around 8PM, but that didn’t answer a whole lot. “You’ve been out for nearly a day- lack of proper rest and nourishment, and overall stress… and dare I mention depression. You were affected by something similar to a coma, but not quite.”

“N-Nearly a Day?!” Sumi screamed back, stress once again taking a firm grasp of her being, worried to death about what Ryuko had to be dealing with back at the small room they called a home.

Kiryūin nodded, and smiled solemnly. “Unfortunately so. My associate took you here and allowed us a quick council with a doctor, and you’ve been resting here since... I also made sure you hadn’t been alone when you awoke as well.”

That meant she had been waiting for her to wake up… this complete stranger. No wonder those blue eyes felt so familiar… they were just as friendly as another- the only other- blue-eyed girl she had known.

“Were you… staying here… with me?” Sumi hesitantly asked, unable to hide a small blush and a slight smile from forming, as she slowly spoke her thoughts.

The raven-haired girl chuckled, and smiled back. “I suppose I have. I didn’t think my week would devolve into watching over a friend in a hospital bed… but it was well worth it, truthfully.”

They then fell into a comfortable silence, Sumi resting her head back more properly as she took in her surroundings just a bit more. The room was… private, no other beds and let alone no other people- only just her and Kiryūin… She noticed it before- sure, but it was strange that at no point, nobody came in to check on something or other, or to check themselves if she was awake. That was odd… very much so.

As if reading her mind, Kiryūin spoke up again. “I asked for us to be left alone, you were quite stable and in no need of any real assistance, other than catching up on some sleep… and judging by your rather aversive nature, I only imagined you’d prefer not waking up to a doctor looming over you.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t have either…” Sumi chuckled again, still trying to wrap her head around this extremely kind girl. “I-If you don’t mind me asking, Miss Kiryūin, do I need to repay you for all of…  _ this _ … in any way?”

She admittedly felt horrible to have essentially made this girl waste who knows how much on her, taking up days of her time, and intruding on their personal life, despite barely even knowing them… No matter how many times she had said it was fine, a part of her just couldn’t accept it.

But, she wasn’t expecting the girl to start laughing at that question. After her chuckles subsided, she shook her head. “You needn’t to call me “Miss Kiryūin,” Sumi. You can call me Satsuki.” She smiled, followed by a slight raising of the hand. “But please, do not think you need to repay me. You needed the medical, and dare I say social assistance, quite a lot, I’m more than happy to provide.”

That feeling swathed over her once more... 

“Then thank you, so very, very much... Satsuki.” Sumi smiled wide- feeling once again that feeling of having a true bond with another… with another girl of sapphire eyes no less.

Ryuko had shown her their own kind of compassion and care, being the one to slowly work her out of her shell... And clearly, Satsuki was going to be another key part of that, to ease her into understanding and acceptance of truly selfless actions… 

And that not everybody would betray her. 

That revelation was more than enough to bring tears to her eyes… Ryuko had not just been a one-off that meant she had gotten lucky. Betrayal was not going to be a constant in her life… that she knew. 

That she could believe in.

* * *

She had been discharged the next morning, having officially been absent from school two days and delivered back to the small apartment-esqe building she had made home. The man in the white suit- Kiryu, if she recalled correctly- was more than fine with driving her there, and had allowed her to say goodbye to Satsuki as well.

Whether they would meet again, she honestly wasn’t sure, but Kiryu had said personally that they “wouldn’t see the last of him,” so at the very least she had a connection to the other girl, which was better than nothing at all.

But… now she had to explain to Ryuko why she was gone for nearly two days- and effectively two in school terms. She knew she had to have been worried sick, and she had honestly been itching to be with her closest friend since she initially left to do... something, that day she met Satsuki.

And so, there she stood, outside of that familiar door after school hours, with a very tall man in a white suit right next to her.

“You gonna open the door?” Kiryu asked, yet showing no sign of annoyance. “I don’t think you should keep your friend waiting any longer, y’know.”

“I-I know… I just…” The mint-ette sighed, trying to find the best way to explain yet another one fo her many irrational thoughts.

Thankfully, Kiryu got the gist of it quicker than she could even speak it. “You worried about if they’ll be angry?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Kiryu hummed contemplatively, closing his eyes for a second before crossing his arms. “Here’s how I see it… If they’re your friend, they’ll be more relieved that you’re okay, than angry that you were gone in the first place, especially if you explain it right. Get what I mean?”

He waited for the girl to nod- and when she did, he hummed again, this time with confirmation. “Friends care about each other. They can get angry- especially kids- but that doesn’t mean they’ll resent you for something out of your control; especially if they already know you well enough to know that you couldn’t help it.”

Sumi nodded again, and sighed deep. “She’ll understand… she’ll understand…”

Grasping the door handle, Kiryu waved goodbye and walked back to his equally as white car parked nearby. He didn’t need to stick around for some young girls’ intimate reunion, he could just watch from afar for a moment.

She couldn’t even open the door before it was swung open by someone on the other side- someone with a red streak in their hair.

“S-SUMIII!!!” Ryuko gasped, tears already forming at the corners of her eyes as she pulled the minty girl in a vice-grip hug that threatened to break a few ribs. “Y-You were gone yesterday and I couldn’t find you- I searched everywhere, the streets, the alleys, the other rooms!!”

“R-Ryuko!!” The mint-ette gasped, patting the other girl’s back furiously to try and tap out of the sudden wrestling match. “I-I’m so sorry- so much stuff happened and I had to stay in the hospital and-”

“THE HOSPITAL?!” She shouted back, immediately making attempts to pull her into their tiny shared room. “Sumi, what the hell happened?! Get in here right now- you better tell me!!”

While Ryuko took to repeating various phrases that all ended up equating to “tell me everything,” Sumi looked over her shoulder to see that the white car they had arrived in was still there. Seeing fit to letting the man- and by extension Satsuki know she was thankful- she used her one free arm to wave at the car, and smiled wide.   
  
“Th-Thank you, Mr. Kiryu!! And you too, Satsuki!!”

She knew that the girl wasn’t there- having told her she had things to attend to back at home- but she was certain the message would be relayed.

And with that, the car finally started to take off, not before she caught a glimpse of the man driving it giving a slight wave of his own, and a nod.

If there was one thing that she learned over these past few days- let alone the past few months… it was that Sumisorano Hoshi was cared for…

She learned now that what her parents did to her- the scars forever on her back… would heal. It just took time, help, and effort.

Scars meant that she was damaged- but that didn’t mean forever. They were signs of a past self now if anything… signs of a past her. She would do better- be better… she understood now that the pain she went through didn’t mean damage- but strength… The strength to survive and the ability to overcome.

Sumisorano Hoshi was synonymous with strength… capability… love… want.

Touch was synonymous with feeling… to bring her in the moment. And trust was synonymous with bonds, those who truly cared for her and gave her the ability to be strong, gave her the ability to be  _ her _ .

And to that… she would be forever thankful, to those girls with sapphire eyes.

* * *

Years passed by, Sumi and Ryuko having started to properly grow into the people they were meant to be. Sumi was still reserved, but had finally broken free of her more aversive natures, and Ryuko had gotten more intense- strong even, easy to anger and ready to beat the snot out of anybody who talked trash of her or her friend.

But, that didn’t mean Ryuko was inherently an angry person. She was an absolute delight to be around still- just getting on her bad side meant the brunt of her more brutish nature. But not once was it directed at Sumi, not once and not ever, according to her.

When she had recounted her reasons as to why she “visited” the hospital- Ryuko practically broke. She was angry, beyond so, and went out of her way the next day to hunt down those bullies and personally sought to it that they would be given the same hell they gave to her friend.

She was suspended for a week- having managed to make it a lot shorter when Sumi stepped up to prove that she had done it unprovoked, and had in fact given them reason to punish those bullies as well- and since then, Ryuko had been… different. As if something in her heart awakened.

Ryuko was still the kind and passionate girl she knew, but she had a temper that was unparalleled and strength that didn’t seem particularly human- but it’s not like she had any sort of way to compare and prove that theory correct or wrong.

They had still been close- and seemed to have only gotten closer… but, even so, it seemed that Sumi didn’t really know a lot about the girl’s personal history, which always struck her as odd that it really  _ never  _ came up… but she wouldn’t press for information either. She didn’t want to; if she wanted to talk about it, she should wait for Ryuko to be willing to first.

But, it still made Sumi feel… sad. How having known this amazing person for so long she barely understood a lot about their personal history, apart from small tidbits, and their likes and dislikes. But at the same time… did she need to know?

She felt slightly obligated, considering she told her all her dark family secrets, why couldn’t that be reciprocated? Or was she asking too much?

That question once again stirred and tossed in her head as she checked the mail, as if it was saut éing in her mind, the little specs of information being used to cook their burning desire of asking why.

She had met the girl when they were 8, and now here they are- age 11. 3 Years were honestly not a lot in retrospect, but 900+ days were, especially if you lived with them.

They rarely got mail- usually just small letters from the school, magazines and ads… but this time, something new was there. Something entirely unique.

A white envelope sealed with red wax- of an emblem she couldn’t discern… with her name on it. In expert, inky cursive, was unmistakably her almost tongue-twister of “Sumisorano Hoshi.”

Ryuko was out again- doing who knows what, she still hadn’t really asked, sadly- so if it was important, a bit of alone time wouldn’t hurt with this intimate piece of high-class paper. 

Using her nail to easily unbind the wax seal, she tossed the rest of the mail on her desk, and pulled the message out from the envelope- written with similar handwriting to what was on the envelope itself.

It was quite wordy, and delicately written- no vagrant specks of ink and no signs of an un-keen hand… so she saw to it to sit down on the edge of her bed, and kindly set the rest of the paper to her side.

“To young Sumisorano Hoshi, while it may seem sudden, and without proper warning, we are seeing fit to transfer you to an up-in-coming, high class academy- the soon to be built “ Honnōji Academy,” currently being developed by the REVOCS Corporation, in collaboration with the development of “Honnō City.” With your excellent academic background, and with word from an anonymous benefactor, we will see to it personally that you will- at the end of the current school year in a few weeks time- be personally transferred with no expenses paid, to Honnōji Academy, from Odawara Shiritsu Jonan Junior High School. Signed, the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education…”

No… this had to be fake, right? If there was some new academy- a high class one at that- she would’ve known about it, right?! Especially if they were building a whole new city for it as well, which was no small task nor easy feat. Just… What was this letter? It obviously wasn’t chain mail, neither was it just something typed out and printed- it was hand written and done so with  _ perfection _ .

Whether she liked it or not… this was real. This was going to be happening in just a few weeks... 

She was going to be sent away, away from Ryuko; her closest friend and confidant…

Just… what was going to happen to her?

She didn’t even register how much time had passed since she first read that letter, all she could register were the tears streaming down her face and the silence in the room that sounded almost deafening- despite nothing at all being present to create that noise in the first place.

Before long, Ryuko had finally returned from her own day- loudly barging in as she usually did and resting her backpack by the foot of her bed, after making sure to toss it across the room.

“Heya, Sumi, how’s it-” She began taking off her varsity jacket and tossing it on the bed in a similar manner, before stopping dead when she saw the look on her friend’s face- a look of fear, accompanied by fresh and old tears. “Going… yo, Sumi, what’s wrong?”

The raven-haired girl leaned in close, arms on the shaking girls shoulders and looked on in worry as the tears continued to stream down her face- her one cracked lens turning one pink eye into a mosaic mess of red puffy-ness, and her hair slightly strewn.

“Th-The letter…” Sumi gasped out before letting out a very raw sob, and leaning into the other girl’s embrace as she cried her heart out onto their shoulder.

Quickly grasping for the letter in the sobbing girl's hand and crumpling it slightly in the process, she quickly skimmed over it- her eyes opening wide at one particular line.

“Seeing it fit to transfer you…” She read aloud slowly, looking at her crying friend with shell-shocked eyes and watching as she stared back with so much  _ fear  _ and so much  _ worry _ . She was going to be going away- and it was going to be soon.

“I-I’m sorry, Ryuko… I-I’m so sorry…” The mint-ette gasped and choked, leaning further in and holding onto them with a grip unbecomingly tight from the usually soft girl.

The other girl was just completely stunned. Her only friend she had outside of her small “groups” was being forced to leave, and it was soon, no less. Her only closest friend…

Her first love.

She didn’t know how to feel… She’d likely still find ways to talk to the girl, sure, but how in the hell was she supposed to handle this? She didn’t even bother reading the rest of the letter before throwing it directly in the bin with rage, and channeling such emotions into a bone-crushing hug of her own to ground the distressed girl in her arms.

She’d likely be unable to tell her, how Sumi made her feel, likely unable to explain to them their true feelings…

“God…” Ryuko began, feeling her own tears prick and start to break free. “Why is life so shitty…?”

The two just sat there, like that day so long ago- of a broken girl crying in her arms, and themselves crying with them. Letting their heart out with the only person they could trust… Letting herself cry and giving the other one the shoulder to cry on.

She wasn’t ready… she just wasn’t ready to see her go.

* * *

Before any of them knew it- the fateful day had arrived.

Sumi’s things were no more than a single suitcase- money didn’t allow for tons of extravagant pairs of clothes when the washer also cost money, and her personal collection of books could’ve been stuffed in her already comically huge backpack given enough effort.

A week before the expected date of the transfer, a second letter had been given to them- a specific time and place, along with a confirmation of the date- the first day of summer.

10:00AM, just outside of their small place, a man would await them. On the dot, no exceptions.

Sumi and Ryuko waited in bated breath to see if it was all well and truthfully real, and they both gasped when they saw a particularly old man, dressed in an immaculate black suit, begin to walk down their sidewalk, and stop directly in across from their door.

He arrived the moment the clock struck 10- on the dot, just as it was written.

The two girls shared a look of surprise and worry, before they anxiously exited the building, letting Sumi lead the way.

The older man perked up a bit once he saw the two, and bowed respectfully before clearing his throat. “Sumisorano Hoshi, I presume?”

“Y-Yes, that’s me…” The mint-ette squeaked, flushing at her name being used and spoken by such a formal man in such a formal tone. “A-Are you the… um…-”

Before she could finish her thought, Ryuko leaned in close over her shoulder with a very angry and unamused look. “Yeah, this’s her, now who the hell’s asking?”

“My sincerest apologies…” The man bowed again. “I do believe I had never given my name in any of my letters, but you may just call me “Soroi.” I am the one who is to be delivering a young “Sumisorano Hoshi” to her new school.”

“Yeah?!” Ryuko snarled back, teeth baring. “With what car?!”

The man- Soroi- seemed almost playful, when he gave a small smile and thumbed to his left.

Down the road, was an immaculate jet-black limousine.

“O-Oh.” The raven-haired delinquent nearly gasped, looking to the limousine and back to her friend, who was very much more shocked than she was.

“I’m afraid we’re short on time, however… so if it’s of no concern, may we please be going?” The aged man bowed once again, looking to both of the girls with an unreadable expression- yet his tone wished for haste.

“O-Of course…” Sumi nodded. “J-Just one more second, please?”

“As you wish.”

Fearing her own nerves would get the better of her, Sumi quickly turned to face her friend, and pulled them into their tightest hug she could physically muster, unsure of how truly strong it was or how it would affect the other girl.

“I-I’m going to miss you… so much… Ryuko…” Sumi chuckled forcefully, trying to push down the waterworks after having already cried enough over the past few weeks.

“I-I know…” She whispered back, hugging back with equal fervor for what she could allow- considering the backpack in the way. “I’ll still be in touch, okay? I promise I will… I’ll send letters and shit, and…”

“I know.” Sumi smiled, resting herself on her friend's familiar warm shoulder, trying to soak in as much of that warmth as she could- because for all she could know it would be the last time she could’ve ever gotten it.

“I-I’m going to miss you…” Sumi whispered, the words almost being lost to the wind due to how tiny and mute they were. “We… we’ve had a good run, y’know?”

“Don’t say that like this is the end, idiot…” Ryuko chuckled back, feeling tears well at the corners of her eyes, threatening to burst free. “It’s not, okay? I promise, it’s not.”

“Okay…” The mint-ette whispered back, unsure of what else to say.

“Hey, Sumi…”

“Hm-“

She felt lips warmly cover hers. Soft, plush...  _ Ryuko _ .

And as soon as it had arrived, it left.

“I love you, Sumi… so much.”

She didn’t know what to say- what to  _ do _ . She felt so utterly lost in this new and sudden emotion- this fever in her heart that quickly rose up like a dam bursting free.

Was this… love?

“I…” She began, trying to work her head around everything and anything- just trying to form one single thing to respond back to the girl…

“I… I love you too.” The mint-ette smiled back, a new flush in her cheeks and a new flame in her chest.

“So… take care, okay?” Ryuko chuckled, giving them one last squeeze before pulling apart, leaving behind phantoms of warmth- one that covered her whole body with a blanket of much needed comfort.

“I… I will, you know I will.”

“Yeah… yeah I do.”

* * *

Soroi had guided them to their escort vehicle- a much too well kept limousine that was lined with a velvet blue interior, and blue lighting to match. Her suitcase was placed in the trunk, and her bag was put just off to the side, resting on the floor of the passengers cabin.

It felt so… strange. It just didn’t feel entirely  _ right _ , having lived their life so far removed from luxury and the sudden head-first dive into it just didn’t feel real.

What’s more… she had that feeling of confusion in her head… but that feeling of longing in her heart.

It didn’t even take more than a second- the moment the vehicle began to move and she watched the face of the girl she knew so well- so close- go by, it registered then just what she was truly leaving behind… what was being taken away from her…

Ryuko had loved her… and she loved her back.

Never before had she felt this feeling of longing… this ache in her heart that encompassed her being, clouded her thoughts. 

That warm, intimate embrace their lips shared… those cold nights quenched by the flames of her lover’s being.

She kept looking back as the girl tried to run to keep pace, waving and shouting all the while with words she couldn’t even hear.

When the limousine began to pick up to a speed she couldn’t match, she just waved harder and jumped to be seen just that bit more.

And finally… she was gone.

She could feel her heart shatter… she was  _ gone _ .

“Young Miss…” Soroi spoke up, having lowered the window partition between the driver's cabin and the passenger’s. “Are you okay?”

Then she broke.

She could feel the tears practically burst free in giant, wet globs of salty wetness that poured down her face and the sons rattled her body following with it, even with the belt buckle she felt nothing was holding her still.

“It’s okay to cry, Young Miss… please, do not be afraid of it.” Soroi spoke softly, turning himself back ahead to keep keen eye on the traffic. “You’ll see her again, that I’m sure...”

She felt horrible for having started to bawl like a toddler in this rich person’s limo, but the more she felt horrible the more it fueled her sadness- the more it fueled that loss… A loss she was ill-prepared for.

She cried, she gasped, she choked even… her voice was hoarse and her eyes were stinging… yet she continued to cry, minutes passing by at what felt like a gruesomely slow pace.

She cried until she managed to tire herself out, head leaned back into the plush seat and tears having streamed down her whole body- going right through the top of her shirt and down her skin… she was caked in sadness, perfectly matching that feeling she felt in her heart.

And in her dreams… she dreamed of her.

Of the girl she’d lost… of the warmth she provided… of the love she gave.

* * *

By the time she had awoken, it was night.

She was lightly jostled awake by the calm Soroi, having rested his hands on her shoulders and nothing more- it almost seems spooky how all it took for the man to wake her up was for him to rest his arms on her.

With a gasp, she was pulled back to reality. She was still in the limo, the blue lights shining much brighter than before now that the sunlight had gone, and the dark windows of the limousine barely showing through a sky of multi-colored lights.

“Are you awake, Young Miss?” Soroi asked, a calm kindness in his tone, almost parental. “We made it on a perfect schedule, dare I say even sooner!” He chuckled, patting her shoulders lightly before he got up, and moved to the exit.

He held the door open for her, and waited for her to follow.

Realizing that she was being waited on, Sumi quickly rubbed her knuckles at the residual wetness on her face from countless dried tears, and made to pick up her backpack off the floor.

When she hopped out of the limousine’s cabin, she had not expected what she saw next.

She was in the middle of a long, circular driveway, right in front of a massive  _ mansion _ . Turning on the ball of her foot- she saw that those lights from before were that of various skyscrapers, some flashing and some having been made of bright, neon signs.

And perfectly situated in the center of it all, was this massive dome-like building, that twisted up into a thin tower, huge spotlight-like light extrusions coming out of the wireframe makeup of the massive monolith.

She was smack-dab in the middle of the concrete jungle- and she was right at the foot of some billionaire mansion. 

This was not what she was expecting, not at all.

“Young Miss?” Soroi had called, breaking the girl out of her racing thoughts. “We made it on good time, but we also mustn’t keep the Lady waiting.”

“O-Oh, okay…” She responded back, quickly taking after his lead and watching in awe as the massive front doors opened up to rows upon rows of maids and butlers.

She had not at  _ all  _ expected this today. Every single worker had given her a quick wave, nod, bow, or verbal greetings of “welcome” as she passed by, walking up a grand staircase into an upper floor portion of the massive estate.

The place was lavishly decorated with crimson carpeting, creamy white walls with red trim and so many light fixtures of chandeliers, candles and more… small statues, golden highlights, it was almost too much for her to handle.

Deeper in they walked, passing by an occasional worker to which Soroi nodded to, and walking past rows of paintings, statues, doors…

Until finally, they stopped at a much bigger door, one that was in a hall of similar doors, on the opposing side as well. With a curt knock with his knuckle, Soroi cleared his throat. “My Lady? the Young Miss Sumisorano Hoshi has arrived.”

“Thank you, Soroi.” An elegantly familiar voice called from the other side of the mahogany gateway. “If you would, may you bring her in?”

“At once, my Lady.”

That voice… Why was it so familiar?

Soroi opened the door slowly, before walking to the side, using his arm to hold open the massive fixtured plank to let them follow with.

Sat across from the door, in front of a fairly modest table, was a tall, raven-haired girl with locks of hair that went to their lower torso in length, and a cup of tea in their hand.

She was dressed in a deep blue robe that covered her whole body, and her hair was cut and smoothened to perfection, draping down her sides and back, with bangs cut in a ‘U’ shape, as to not obscure her features…

One of which, being familiar, sapphire eyes.

“It’s been quite some time, Sumi.” She smiled, resting the cup down on its saucer with a practiced ease. “I hope you’ve been well.”

“S-Satsuki…?” She whispered in response, losing grip on her backpack- it falling back with an audible “thud” on the floor.

“You’ve been going to the doctor regularly, yes? I know it was a bit strange, setting up appointments years in advance… but I do hope your scars have been healing well.”

It was her…

After having met her years prior, she had not once been able to see her again. All she had to remember her by was her selfless act of giving her free appointments, and apparently protection- as Kiryu had almost certainly been watching her from the shadows, she knew that white suit anywhere.

She felt bad, feeling as though she had driven her away, yet forced her into her life. She didn’t know why she ever felt as such… she had clearly shown to her that she was more than happy to be around her… but all that time she spent distancing Sumi had felt different. It felt like she left her, but feeling obligated to continue helping her, Sumi only being sedated by the warmth that was Ryuko keeping her grounded.

But now, Ryuko was gone.

“S-Satsuki…” She gasped, feeling her heart ache and swell.

“Are you alright?” The raven-haired girl questioned, smile fading and making way for slight worry.

Quickly darting forward, Sumi dashed right to the other girl and immediately wrapped her arms around her- their now stark difference in height meaning she shoved herself straight into her chest.

She gasped… she sobbed… she held on tight for dear life.

She lost someone so close, and in her vagrant emotions she selfishly shoved that very person- Ryuko- back, to make way for who was there.

She needed someone… she needed Satsuki.

“Soroi, can you leave us be, please?” Satsuki called to the butler- who quickly nodded, and made to leave. “You’ve done well, Soroi… you may take tomorrow off, if you wish, you’ve more than earned it.”

“Thank you, my Lady, of course.” He nodded, and slowly closed the door behind him.

“I-I thought I drove you away…” Sumi gasped, gripping the other girl tight and unable to stop her tears from falling once again, as she held onto the girl like a lifeline.

“You couldn’t ever…” Satsuki whispered back, slowly lowering herself and the girl to the floor, holding her close and rubbing her back.

“I-I’m so sorry… I-I’m so… s-sorry…”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Sumi…” They continued to whisper. “It’s my own fault that I had given you that impression. I truthfully had no time to be able to see you… but, that is also no excuse.”

Satsuki felt a strong connection to the girl, as strong as it was sudden. She felt… like she needed to be there. She felt some twisted sense of obligation, but one she felt more than willing to have.

That mutual sharing of a family that only pained them drove her heart to seek her out, yet knowing if she did she would risk it all… It was admittedly childish- impulsive even- yet she couldn’t help herself… no matter how steeled her heart was- it could still yearn.

And it yearned for this broken, scarred, and pained girl. One that was undeserving of what she had to deal with… what she continues to go through. Her family had hurt her due to absolutely moronic reasons that couldn’t be justified- and she had been left to deal with the scraps.

It was utterly sickening, and she wished to rescue this girl- save her from that life.

She finally got the chance to, with the development of Honnōji, she had the perfect shot to rescue this girl for whom her heart yearned.

It was impulsive… but she had not once before felt the way her heart did until she had come across the beautiful girl that was Sumisorano Hoshi.

She felt love.

And any god be damned that she was going to let this girl get away.

Letting this girl into her home took meticulous planning and coordination like no other… she was just lucky that Ragyō agreed to such arrangements as well… but also worried.

She knew she had no interest in her- nothing would be gained from her existence, so she justifiably amounted to nothing in her eyes. She shouldn’t be worried- She had managed to tell her mother of her wants of helping out a struggling girl in need, and considering how low-profile it would be- and should it be discovered, how well it would look for her image and marketing REVOCS- it was only an arrangement that could give gain.

Sheltering a young, pained girl and “nursing her back to health” was a saint’s play, one that would boost her credibility and image. She could benefit highly from it if she ever wishes to do so.

But even so… Satsuki felt as though this was a gamble… what unforeseen variables could arise?

The most she would expect is Ragyō to arrive one day to personally meet her- and heaven forbid the Grand Couturier comes as well- so long as she could make it past that hurdle… things should go smoothly. Her plans could continue and even further thrive with the young girl’s help, having an extremely above average academic background and intellect that could rival her own, if her records were indeed correct.

But… would she agree?

“Sumi?” She spoke up, running her hand down her mint curls- having grown to be more curly and wavy with time- slowly and smoothly.

Working out a raspy cough, the other girl looked up at her, one eye still broken due to the shattered glass. “Y-Yeah…?”

“I… I need to speak to you, about something important… is that alright?”

“Oh… yeah, of course, I’m sorry…” The mint-ette flushed, wiping away the last wetness of her eyes and looking away.

She couldn’t help but chuckle, seeing the girl blush so easily. “Don’t be sorry, it seemed like you needed it, I understand.”

Helping the girl up, she guided her to the table she had just previously been sitting at- only having two chairs, which Sumi took to sitting across from her- and calmly lifting her tea, to take a much needed, hefty sip.

Realizing the other girl looked a bit unsure of what to do, other than sit still and look still embarrassed, she sat the cup back down, and calmly pushed the drink over to her.

“Would you like to try it? I’ve had my fill today, so don’t be worried if you end up drinking the rest.” She smiled at her, trying to work down another chuckle as she held the cup with both hands, using one for the handle and the other to hold the side.

She raised it to her lips, and tilted her head back to quickly drink the rest of it- it was uncouth, but it felt genuine, and she was more than happy with that.

“That’s… kind of bitter, but also really good…” Sumi smiled, eyes of rose locking with sapphire. “Did… did you make it?”

Calmly shaking her head, Satsuki could feel her smile widening. “No, believe me if I had, it would be sweeter. But, I’ve grown to very much love the bitterness of Soroi’s tea… I hadn’t enjoyed it at all at first, but it’s grown on me.”

“It’s really good… honestly, the bitterness is kind of what I needed…” The minty girl chuckled, happiness leaking through her tone, slowly but surely ebbing away the sadness. “It keeps me here… y’know? It’s like the tea is telling me this is real… because if it was sweet…”

“It would feel as though it was a dream, correct?” Satsuki finished, unable to restrain herself- her smile- anymore.

This girl was so easy… so calm… so sweet. She was pained but despite it all she was strong, she could keep on living… She was the only person in her world who showed her that feeling of love.

“Yeah, that.” Sumi chuckled again, much more bubbly and happily. “It kind of stings, but it keeps me here… with you.”

“And thankfully, you are.” The raven-haired girl nodded, before her smile began to fade. “Now, as strange as this may sound, there is some… business, we need to talk about.”

Sumi quickly stopped chuckling- which Satsuki internally cursed herself for, forcing this girl to stop such a pleasant noise- And leaned in a bit closer. “Yeah, sorry… so, what’s going on?”

“I…” Okay, this was going to be difficult. “What I am about to say requires you to understand that… as strange and almost fictional it may be… It is all very, very much real, and should it require, I can prove it to you. Do you understand?”

Thankfully, Sumi immediately nodded. “Yeah… I trust you, it’s okay.” The mint-ette smiled calmly, urging her to continue.

“Alright… Although I must preface this by saying… this will likely sound like one of the many books you’ve read- it almost sounds impossible even when knowing of it… but I trust that you’ll treat this with utmost seriousness, yes?”

“I promise, Satsuki, I’ll take it as seriously as I can… although now I’m a bit anxious.” She nervously chuckled, absentmindedly adjusting her glasses- a tell of anxiousness that Satsuki already picked up on. “If I didn’t know any better, I was about to be sent out to fight goblins or wizards or something.”

“I cannot say it’ll be that fantasy-like, but… that’s also not far off…”

“I… what?”

And so, the die was cast- the gamble in motion. Satsuki told her of everything she knew… of the Life Fibers, Ragyō’s penultimate plan for humanity… absolute control over everybody on earth in order to cacoon-ify the planet- acting as a catalyst for the fibers to move onto other worlds… it didn’t seem real- and yet when spoken out of Satsuki’s mouth, she couldn’t help but take it as anything but.

She told her of why she sought out to build Honnōji Academy- to act as a testing ground to create soldiers who would be capable to fight back, and handle the very fibers they seek to destroy, to fight fire with fire. 

But what was required to build it was time, and a lot of it. She needed to not only manage the building of a school, but also an artificial city along with it- right over the water.

“And so… I need you, Sumi.” She finished with a small bow, and head kept downcast. “I don’t want to force you to help me… But I cannot lie and say that I summoned you here hoping that you would.”

She was given a choice… but the answer was already clear- from the start.

“I understand if you wish to not aid me- I am asking quite a lot…” Satsuki continued, keeping her head down all the while. “You will likely have to go through quite rigorous testing yourself- to see if compatibility with Life Fibers is possible and other various testing, should you choose to accept-”

“I-I’ll do it, Satsuki.”

“Hm?” The raven-haired heiress perked up, eyes opened wide at the sheer determination on the other girl’s face.

“I… I can’t lie to you and say I’m not afraid…” Sumi began, smiling shakily to try and quell her own nerves. “But… even so… I know if I’m by your side, things’ll be alright… they have been so far, so I don’t think I’ll stop now.”

“Are you certain?”

“I…”

Was she certain? Honestly, no, but at the same time…

“Of course I am. With you… I’ll see anything through to the end.”

She couldn’t help as though, even if she wasn’t certain, there was one thing- one person she could trust… and that was Satsuki.

“I trust you, Satsuki. You put your absolute everything into that girl who you found beaten to the ground… so I’ll put my faith in you… even if it seems impossible.”

What she was getting into wasn’t going to be easy, by no means even difficult- it was going to be practically impossible- hell, even totally. But… she owed it to her to be there.

And for the first time in her life- she felt such a real purpose to grasp- to strive for. To help this girl save the world… that sounded pretty fun, in all honesty.

“I’ll put all my faith in you, Satsuki. No matter how long it takes… we’ll give them  _ hell _ .”

…

Satsuki was stunned, even confused. But, the more Sumi continued to ensure that this was truly what she wanted to do… she felt confident, that her feelings were real… weren’t misplaced.

And most of all, that this gamble would well and truly pay off- even if the goal was so far away.

“And hell… we shall indeed give.”


	2. Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From a small room to a lavish mansion... things were moving pretty fast for young Sumisorano Hoshi.
> 
> But, how long will the good times last?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW for Non-Con, be warned.

That night, Sumisorano had been told the absolute truths of the world she lives in. 

The secrets behind human evolution… the development of man, and even how we came to be as modern human people.

How the Life Fibers have been orchestrating, coaxing,  _ conditioning us  _ to wear clothing, all so we may be used as living sustenance for them to further expand throughout the cosmos until they can go no farther.

And she was going to go against it all… using the very enemy itself against it no less.

Fighting fire with fire at least in this instance sounded highly promising, the Fibers augmenting properties meant- theoretically speaking- soldiers stronger than the world’s own military- who work only with human limitation and machinery.

They wouldn’t be outmatched, if anything it would be even. But yet, even so… it still felt daunting.

What’s more… The very opponent they were facing was Satsuki’s blood mother.

What bothered her was just the morality of it, no matter how twisted the person is- they were still the only living blood relative that Satsuki had left.

Would she be okay with snuffing out even their life if it meant she would destroy another’s family- especially Satsuki’s?

She wasn’t sure, at least right now she wasn’t. That was a question to ponder, but regardless she knew she would still do it in the end- anything for Satsuki.

But having already lost her own, she could at least say they weren’t  _ dead _ . How would Satsuki feel about her mother’s death? She spoke so ill of her, but… she still felt as though she needed to ask her, personally.

Would she allow Sumi to end her mother’s life? Would she want to take it herself? Would she spare the woman?

Her plans spoke of the death of Ragyō Kiryūin, but she also felt as though, even with Satsuki’s almost scarily unwavering resolve, would she allow mercy to her if she had begged and groveled for it?

Why was this question so stuck in their mind? Why did she feel as though this was something that needed to be questioned? Of course she should die- she’s a monster trying to destroy the whole freaking planet.

But… why did she still feel worried for the girl who would likely be doing the killing, and what she herself would do if she had to do it instead?

“You’ve been lost in thought for quite a while, Sumi. I can only assume you’re trying to work your way through it all?”

Oh, right. She was still sitting right in front of them.

“S-Sorry!!” The minty girl quickly sputtered, before gently placing her glasses down. “It’s just… a lot to take in, y’know?” 

Beginning to rub her temples, she sighed softly. “It’s just so… bizarre. It sounds fictional- and yet it so perfectly compliments and explains our history of evolution, it’s hard to call it  _ not  _ true...”

We as people have known that at some point the modern man had started from primates… yet during that 6-ish million year gap to get us to this point is nearly an enigma. To learn that the secret behind it was an alien force… It just didn’t seem real.

Satsuki nodded in agreement. “The Life Fibers have been there since the beginning, it’s how we’ve been so easily conditioned to un-subconsciously follow their will. We have seen fit to cover ourselves up… And have done so from conception, to now.”

Sumi leaned back in the chair, slumping only slightly down in it and looking up towards the roof. “It’s in nearly  _ every single article of clothing  _ too… the Life Fibers…”

REVOCS has been growing steadily over the years- having been one of the most prominent up and coming clothing businesses that, despite such fierce competition, only continued to grow and expand.

It was hard to find anything but a REVOCS brand shirt or slacks, they were practically everywhere… they’ve gone global- all it took for Ragyō to pull the trigger was to just give the word… however that may work, and just like that- the Fibers will begin to ensnare the world in red.

Satsuki nodded once more. “It’s very likely in the clothes you wear as well, it’s almost impossible to not own a REVOCS brand article of clothing in the modern era, whether it was sold directly or manufactured by them, and given to a third party.” 

_ In the clothes I wear… _

“So as far as I can grasp this…” Sumi began, readjusting her posture and picking her glasses back up. “When we can finally go after Ragyō realistically… is when Honnōji is finished, and we’ve made ample progress of Life Fiber research and development?”

“That is correct.” The heir confirmed, absentmindedly moving a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “We still have much time, and much more to do before that phase of the plan begins… So I truly hope you are in it for the ‘long haul.’”

“I’m in it, Satsuki… I absolutely am.” The mint-ette nodded, her intense resolve once again showing through, clear as day in her expression.

“And I’m most certainly happy you are.” The raven-haired girl smiled, before gently putting a hand forward. “I suppose this is... to a new beginning? It may not be entirely accurate… but suffice to say this truly is the start of a new chapter in each of our lives.”

Grasping firmly, Sumi initiated the shake- in her own unique way- using both hands, eliciting a sudden giggle from the other girl. “It is for me, but it seems like this has been your new beginning for a while already.”

“Believe it or not, I’ve only just begun myself.” Satsuki continued, after taking a moment to work down the bubbling in her chest. “I’ve only just recently been able to start planning Honnōji… and, beginning to seek out the help of more people like you.”

“More people… like me?”

“Honnōji is a kingdom, one that requires not only subjects, but commanders to rule- strong, capable people- to look over it all. Other than two other people, you’ve been the first outsider I’ve contacted about all of this, and the first outsider to accept.”

“So… we’re going to need to look for those ‘commanders’ then, in order to build up our ranks even more?” Sumi thought aloud, but still asked the other girl in the form of a question.

“Yes, as much as I believe you’re one worthy of that spot, you alone won’t do. I myself do not know how long it will be or how many it would take… but I know I still require a strong battalion to rule over my kingdom with me.”

Yeah, that made sense, two girls against the world didn’t seem particularly favorable. “Yeah, I understand… Who else have you told?”

“For the purpose of the job- only two. One is a member of the few who will help overlook the ‘subjects,’ the other is an expert in tailoring… of Life Fibers.”

Two fingers were held out, and with her other hand, she pointed to the first one. “Nonon Jakuzure, the only one so far who I am most certain will be well fitting of a lesser- yet similar role you would fill in Honnōji. A close friend whom I’ve known for many years, even before I’ve met you. She’s a musician by trade and an amazing conductor, of both musicians and people alike…”

Why did she feel a slight pang of jealousy at that statement?

“...and Shirou Iori, another close acquaintance of mine, and grandchild of Mitsuzou Soroi. Whom I’ve also known for quite some time, he is an expert in tailoring, and quite keen eyes for design and functionality. Not only will he be of help with the collection of data with Life Fiber testing, but he’s also the one who will be able to create the things we  _ wish  _ to test.”

A Musician, a Tailor, a Heiress and an Academic…

“...Quite the lineup.” Sumi chuckled, mostly to herself. “We’ve got music, clothes, pretty looks and smarts- we could honestly start an idol group.”

“I…” Satsuki blinked, bewildered.

_ ‘That was... highly unexpected… Sumi is quite the girl, alright…’ _

“S-Sorry, that was a pretty bad joke, wasn’t it?” Sumi chuckled again, this time a lot more nervous and unsure.

“No, no it’s alright… it was just a bit sudden.” The heiress eventually laughed, flushing slightly as she worked through the statement…

_ ‘She just sleeper-celled the complement of calling me pretty, didn’t she?’ _

“But yes, I suppose we do, in fact, have an ideal idol group for our starting line.”

* * *

A lot of things had changed in just one night.

And one of them being, she was now sleeping in a massive mansion of an old friend, and also of the enemy of mankind.

Her room was only right across from Satsuki’s, and most likely of similar layout- only lacking in personal memorabilia.

Suitcase opened and the clothing laid out nice and even… she had only a few sets of clothes, but had to consistently clean them- it wasn’t like she could afford new clothes for a much bigger wardrobe. 

It felt a bit…  _ weird  _ now, knowing that tiny little aliens were in her clothes, but they weren’t particularly doing anything, so at the very least they were safe.

But now she was just alone with her thoughts, alone to contemplate.

Just one day… so much had changed…

_ Ryuko _ …

How could she have forgotten?

She just completely forgot about her closest friend- just like that…?

_ God _ … what was wrong with her?

She could already feel the tears well once more for the third time today… she was weak, wasn’t she? So, so weak…

She couldn’t bother Satsuki, not again, not today.

So, she returned to bed, quickly abandoning her clothing and stripping down to only her undergarments- just those damned boxers that she’s been forced to wear.

She curled up in the ample sheets, head against plush pillows, and despite how much comfort it gave… No amount of comfort could mend her broken heart.

She needed Ryuko… she needed just  _ somebody  _ to mend that now painfully prominent pain in her heart…

Weeping silently, tears streaming down into the sheets- she didn’t care. All she could think about was the pain of losing a loved one, the despair of having a body they never wished to be born in, and the shame for being so frail- so brittle.

But, no matter how much she wept, nothing would change.

And even then, no matter how silent or how secretive she wished to be…

She couldn’t hear the shuffling carpet, and the girl on the other side of the door who listened close.

With a heart that also yearned, for the broken, distressed, scarred girl on the other side.

* * *

That next morning was… silent.

Despite how many workers the mansion had, and how much foot traffic there was last night, the morning was almost deafening.

She awoke with a horrible morning feel, a mess of unruly mint hair on her head and her skin soaked with dried tears.

She should’ve asked where the bathrooms were, or at least a bath…

Working her way out of the now tangled mess of sheets, she stopped with her feet dangling over the side of the massive bed, having caught herself looking again.

She hated her body… everything about it was so just…  _ not her _ . It wasn’t beautiful like her preferred name implied, it wasn’t even feminine. She was skinny and lean, but it didn’t help that lacking certain parts meant that despite the ability to  _ pass _ , she truly couldn’t  _ be _ .

Their hair was at least something they were confident about, though. So were her eyes… but her facial structure was just so slightly off it hurt.

Why couldn’t she just be happy? About herself, about who she was…

“Young Miss?”

“H-Hm?”

Knocking on the other side of the door, was unmistakably that of the kind Soroi. Why he hasn’t taken the day off, honestly she had no clue.

“Y-Yes?” She called out, much more audibly this time.

“I came to check if you were awake, but I also come with a gift, from the Lady.”

A gift?

“May I enter?” He finished, not making any attempt to enter without confirmation- treating her as if she were a girl.

“Y-Yeah, you can, Soroi…”

Quickly, she dashed for a folded shirt to drape over her top, trying her best to look as decent as possible.

But what she didn’t expect was the man took his time to give  _ her  _ time. Even though she said it was fine to enter, he still took a few moments before actually opening the door. It was a kind gesture, one she didn’t know how much she would truly appreciate.

The kind butler finally entered the room- clothes draped over his shoulder and a kind smile on his face. “My Lady had said that your wardrobe situation hadn’t been exactly ‘favorable,’ so she saw fit to give you this, to begin with.”

With gloved hands, he kindly placed down on the room’s table, a neatly folded garment…

“She told me, this was ‘an elegant dress, for an elegant lady.’ It’s only one so far, mind you, as we’ve already made preparations to acquire more, among other things.”

“E-Elegant lady…?” She parroted in a whisper, looking at the garment- a light pink that matched her eyes, and so finely stitched… it looked wispy, like that of an angel’s dress.

“Indeed, Young Miss.” Soroi nodded. “The Lady herself picked it out, and I think she did a particularly good job doing so.”

Picking up the dress with shaky hands, Sumi raised it up, and lightly held the top half- letting the rest of it fall down to the earth.

It was weaved with many artistic swirls at the base, that flowed up and fizzled out into smooth fabrics, multiple layers of frills that stepped up and stopped just above the bodice, being held around the shoulders by a puffy outward jutting set of frills, and on each side flowing outward were peasant style sleeves, at the very end having also been adorned with frills…

It was a beautiful, intricately crafted dress, one that looked  _ much  _ outside her allowance range. What’s more, on closer inspection the dress’ colors actually  _gradient_ , having a more white color at the bodice and flowing outward to a light pink.

“My Lady had also instructed me to give you this, to fully complete the look.”

Held out in his hands now, was a pure white belt, designed with a rose-and-thorn pattern, that shone against the white with a rose gold glow… the buckle itself being an intricate design- of a ‘K’ in elegant calligraphy, and even appeared to be made of actual  _ gold _ .

“You are an honorary member of the Kiryūin family, Young Miss. While not by blood, you will be treated as though you are, and no different from the Lady and the Head.”

“A-An honorary member… of the Kiryūin family…?”

This was certainly a lot to digest.

Placing the belt down on the table, Soroi bowed. “If you wish to take a bath first, however, Young Miss, I can guide you to one of the many bathrooms of this manor, or the Grand Bath itself.”

“Grand Bath…?”

Soroi nodded. “Yes, we have a quite large bathhouse on the premises- which had been created right over top of a natural hot spring. During this rather cold start to the summer, I would assume it would be quite refreshing, although only those of the Kiryūin family may enter, so I cannot tell you myself.”

That… sounded honestly pretty good right about now. She hadn’t experienced a hot spring before…

“I… sure, why not?”

“Then please, allow me to show you the way.”

* * *

The manor was… seriously huge. And thankfully she had Soroi around to show her the way. 

It wasn’t quite a tour- but it was still informative. He explained the rooms they passed if they were of note, and nodded to various passing workers who were doing various tasks of cleaning, traveling with carts of who knows what, and some on their way likely to their next task.

It was so silent, and yet so active.

“Here we are, Young Miss.”

The hall had, in the direct middle, an opening that led directly out into a large, stone floored room with an open roof. Steam rose from the cloudy water pooling in the center, and on the opposing side was a large, stone mural, and what looked to be even more steam being emitted from behind it

“Here’s your towel and bath robe, Young Miss.” Soroi bowed, holding out in his hands a pure white towel, and matching robe, for her to take.

_ ‘Wait, when did he get those…?’ _

“Th-Thank you, Soroi…” She smiled, accepting the fabrics. “But… there’s no doors, is it really fine if I…?”

“It’s alright, Young Miss. The other workers have already been informed, and nobody will use this hall while you bathe.”

Now, normally, that would’ve not been enough, but considering how… well trained? The workers were, that was a fine arrangement.

“Alright… thank you very much, Soroi.” She smiled, before bowing herself. “And, if it’s alright with you, can you tell Satsuki ‘thank you’ for me?”

“Of course, Young Miss, I’ll make sure your message gets to its recipient.”

And with that, Soroi had left her to her own machinations. She still wasn't… entirely comfortable, considering she was an outsider going into what was essentially a sacred ground, but… if she was being treated as a Kiryūin… she would be allowed in, right?

Only then had it occurred to her that she was still in nothing more than a simple shirt and boxers, and at that point she just felt like an idiot… but, she wasn’t about to put on such a beautiful dress without cleaning herself up first, so it didn’t feel _quite_ _as bad_ in that context.

Making certain to look as far away as she could from her body, and checking left and right multiple times, she stripped down, and neatly folded her clothes near the edge of the springs.

She’d be fine, nobody was going to come, she can just relax in the hot springs… it was quite a weird way to first experience a famous custom such as this, but she wouldn’t complain.

The moment her foot sunk into the misty water- she could feel almost  _ immediate  _ bliss. 

Her foot sunk even deeper into the warm water, and was quickly followed by the other. It didn’t feel right, water shouldn’t be  _ this  _ enjoyable to bathe in, right?

That morning-ache feeling she got was immediately swathed away with comforting warmth, it almost felt like the water itself was massaging her, slowly but surely alluring her more and more into its embrace.

Before she knew it, her lower body had been engulfed by the just barely translucent liquid. It tickled her skin in ways she couldn’t even dream of, the heat was so calming and as they went deeper in, the sensation of bliss only getting better.

Her upper body was next, and she only just realized how deep this spring actually was- having finally touched down on stone to stand upon, and was able to quickly find a place to sit.

Shoulders slackened, and all worry, all stress, melted away.

She was in absolute heaven, the calming, soothing water surrounding her engulfed them whole, twisting and turning with minimal movement, as if investigating the body that had entered it, tickling her and working at all the aching of her body until nothing was left.

This was something she could get used to…

Using her arms to collect some water, she casually raised her arms to her head, and poured the liquid over her. It streamed down her head in warm streaks, tickling her skin with that fizzy sensation again and again.

It was absolutely amazing… for her first hot spring experience- she can see why they’re so popular. It was like a massage, the warm spring water working at all the knots in her body, mellowing her out until she was nothing more than lax putty.

She let out a blissful sigh as she lowered herself enough to where only her head was above water, the water continuing to swirl around her and the steam making way for her presence.

It was so…  _ good _ .

The more she moved her body the more lax she got, time wasn’t even an equation anymore as she drifted across the pool of ambrosia-like liquid, eyes closed and letting the water guide her.

She honestly would have fallen asleep in the spring, it was more comforting than any sort of bed, blanket, pillow,  _ anything _ . 

She could feel her conscious begin to ebb, her mind beginning to slow down, her body beginning to rest. Using the last of her wakefulness, she drifted back over to one side, and sat down on a stone outcropping near the edge… she’d just rest herself for a moment, nothing more…

A footstep.

Another.

Her mind slowly began to register the noise, someone was coming. She expected Soroi- assuming he would’ve made sure she didn’t stay in the spring for too long.

Another.

She turned her head towards the entrance, but realized once she opened her eyes nobody was there.

Another.

The echoes were sounding from the other side of the room, from behind the giant stone mural she took note of before…

Another.

The closer the steps got, she watched as her senses were engulfed with an almost inhuman light: bright, blinding, blazing technicolor.

Another.

She couldn’t parse what she was seeing, as the intensive lights burst through the steam, blinding her unadjusted eyes.

One last step.

A figure was there behind all the steam, giving off an almost holy rainbow light.

Slowly they began to undress themselves, and it was then that Sumisorano started to feel fear- bursting through the bliss like a bullet.

She was stunned to their spot, unable to move. The heat of the spring was no longer comforting- it felt scalding. The movement she felt in its wake beginning to twirl around her faster, and the steam slowly but surely beginning to fade away.

In front of her was a massive, naked figure of a pale skinned woman, her white hair opening up to rainbow follicles that practically blasted her with its light.

She climbed into the spring with delicate ease, her busty physique unavoidable to look at, her face was calm- smiling even, right at her.

“I take it you’re that “Sumisorano Hoshi” my precious daughter talked so fondly of?”

Resting her head on one arm’s knuckles, she looked at the other girl with a coy, knowing smirk.

She was face to face with Ragyō Kiryūin; messiah of the Life Fibers.

No words could escape her mouth- absolutely nothing, not even a squeak. Her body couldn’t even begin to move, not even a single finger or toe.

“Don’t be shy, I know plenty about you already.”

She began to move toward her, standing up and waltzing through the water- ignoring its pull and making calm, elegant strides.

“You’re quite the apple of her eye… and I must admit, you're the apple of mine as well.”

She kept going closer, and Sumi kept growing more and more tense.

“You’re bathing in more than just hot-spring water, you know…”

Finally close enough to her prey, Ragyō moves one arm out of the water, and gently cups Sumi’s face.

“This liquid you bathe in… to make it nice and simple…” Her hand caressed the girl’s face, fingers gently gliding across her skin. “...Helps “increase” ones synchronicity with the fibers of life…”

Another hand glided down her chest, going lower and lower…

“It makes one closer to that red thread of fate…”

Her fingers grazed a part of her she wished they hadn’t. A part she wished she never had.

“And traditionally… this would be where only the Kiryūin would bathe… it is their birthright…”

They gripped.

“But… an exception can be made for you…”

Her body felt sensations she couldn’t stop- sensations she didn’t want to feel.

“And as such… you will be treated as one…”

Stop.

“You’ll be shown…  _ purity, enlightenment _ …”

Stop…

“You’ll be given…”

_ Please _ …

“Bliss.”

She moved closer.

“You’re a member of our family now…”

_ Please…! _

“Now…  _ claim your birthright. _ ”

Her body felt limp. Her senses flared.

Her mind had broke.

The one thing she was given choice to give… had been taken away.

* * *

“Soroi?”

“Yes, My Lady?”

“If I may, where is Sumisorano?”

“She’s currently in the Grand Bath, my lady.”

“...I see…”

“Where are you going, My Lady?”

“...To check on her.”

* * *

Her senses ebbed… her body limp… her mind broken…

As soon as the messiah had arrived, she had vanished. Leaving her behind, resting on the stone floor to wallow in her revulsion.

She had left with her teachings, ones she hadn’t wished to learn.

Her tears hot and heavy were in a pool on the floor, along with other excretions she hadn’t wished to ever produce.

She was wallowing in her own,  _ disgusting _ excretion and salty tears.

She had experienced things she hadn’t ever wanted to experience, things she should’ve at least been ready to first.

She wasn’t ready.

“...Sumi…?”

She entered a world she wasn’t supposed to enter yet.

She had experienced things she wasn’t mentally prepared for yet.

“...Sumi?!”

She had lost something she wasn’t ready to lose yet.

“ _ Sumi?!” _

She had lost the only thing she had right to give.

And never again will she ever be able to give it.

* * *

Hands wrapped tight around the red-skinned girl, she continued to carry her through the mansion, body wrapped tight in towels and robes.

She overheard the deafening twirls of a helicopter beginning to take flight, she hadn’t even known she had  _ arrived _ …

With a sharp kick, the door was burst open.

She was in one of the various luxury bathrooms of the manor, lights already on and an awaiting Soroi at the ready.

“My Lady, what’s going-“

“She  _ violated  _ her, Soroi!!” Satsuki screamed, gently placing the girl down into the tub of the bath.

“M-My Lady!”

“She took something only  _ she  _ had the right to give, the same thing she did to  _ me _ , Soroi!!”

A hand gripped hard on the knobs of the water control, turning on immediately a steam of fast-moving, warm water.

“That  _ wench  _ of a being  _ violated her _ , in ways she hadn’t even been mentally prepared for!!”

A quick swipe for the soap was made, lathered in the water and quickly transferred over to the girl.

“M-My Lady, please, what are you-“

“I’m cleaning off the  _ filth  _ my mother had put onto her, Soroi!!”

The girl in the tub had been shifting between incomprehensible sobs and incomprehensible babble, curled in on herself and shaking rapidly.

“I’m cleaning off that goddamn self-proclaimed “ _purity_ ” my horrid mother “ _enlightened_ ” her with!!”

She furiously scrubbed against the skin, lathering it with soapy suds.

“My Lady, please, now’s not the time to be doing something so rash!”

With a quick and violent turn of the head, Satsuki glared at the man. “Then when  _ is  _ the time, Soroi?!”

“At least let the Young Miss do it  _ herself _ , instead of so forcibly putting hands on her after what she had just gone through!”

The distressed girl wailed loud enough to break through the argument, tears still streaming as she continued to curl in on herself, trying to inch away from the heiress’ touch.

What had she been thinking?

“I-I…”

“My Lady… please, let her do it herself, if she even wishes to.”

A sharp grip on her arms drew her to the distressed mint-ette, who between sobs and croaks, kept repeating the words: “just stay.”

“I… Soroi… I apologize but… please… let us be.”

“...Of course, My Lady.” The man bowed, and quickly made to exit the room, closing the slightly bruised door behind him.

Sumi dragged the heiress down, getting her wet in the process. She gripped onto her tight, constantly mumbling things under her breath and pulling her closer and closer.

She wouldn’t let her stop, she just hugged back with equal fervor. Letting the girl weep on her robe, letting the warm water completely soak her.

“Sh-Sh-She…” The girl whimpered, still holding tight the dark blue fabrics on the heiress’ body. “She-She…  _ t-touched _ me… i-in places I-I-I wasn’t w-wanting… i-in-in ways I w-wasn’t ready for...”

“I know, Sumi, I know…” Satsuki whispered back, holding them tight and rubbing their back in calm, soothing circles. “She… she’s done it to me too.”

A sharp gasp came from the shuddering girl, followed immediately by a much tighter hold. “I-I-I’m so s-sorry…”

“Hush, Sumi… it was out of your control…” She softly shushed the girl, leaning in close and resting her forehead against theirs. “You couldn’t stop her… I just wish I could have...”

The two fell silent as they comforted one another, Sumi’s grip eventually starting to slack as the water started to run colder.

“I-I… Will I be okay…?” The mint-ette practically begged, looking at the heiress with pleading eyes, lip quivering.

“You will, Sumi… you will… I absolutely promise you will…” She continued to whisper, stroking the girl’s wavy locks and keeping her hold on them tight.

Even as the water ran cold, they continued to embrace each other tight, not letting a single thing break them apart.

The hold Sumi gave her lessened enough for Satsuki to realize how well and truly soaked the two of them were, and how much time had truly passed.

“Are you awake, Sumi…?” She asked, yet unable to stop gently twirling her wet, minty curls.

“Y-Yeah…” The mint-ette responded with a very hoarse rasp. “I-I’m sorry for dragging you into the shower…”

“Please, Sumi, there’s no need to apologize.” The heiress managed to chuckle, beginning to help the now shivering girl to her feet. “You’ve done nothing wrong, there’s nothing to be sorry for.”

Sumi started to shake her head no, “B-But your robe…-“

“Can be dried. It’s just water, Sumi, it’s okay.”

Feet out of the shower and on the tile floor, she reluctantly nodded. “O-Okay…”

Taking the victory with a smile, the raven-haired girl pulled out a pair of towels from a nearby small closet. “Would you like some privacy? I can exit the room for a moment, if you wish.”

“I… honestly I just… need you…” Sumi replied with a noticeable blush- hoping it was hidden by their still slightly red skin. “I’m okay if you stay in the room… just… look away, okay…?”

“Of course, I have been raised with manners, unlike  _ you _ , if the way you sip your tea is anything to go by.” 

“H-Hey! I haven’t drank out of a fancy tea-cup before, I was just thirsty!” 

Turning away with a confident smirk, Satsuki tried her best to keep her laughter down. “Honestly, even in the presence of such ‘pretty looks,’ you’re rather uncouth.”

“W-Wait, you got that?!”

“Of course I did, I’m just as smart as you- if not even more so, you know.”

“G-Ghk! I-I thought I was being good about it too…”

“Not good enough to sneak past Satsuki Kiryūin, I’m afraid.”

* * *

For the rest of the day, with justifiable reason, Sumi remained mostly jumpy, and refused to go really anywhere without Satsuki.

She felt horrible for it, but she didn’t mind that Sumi had decided to be stuck to her waist. The girl was a joy to be around, but she wished she could’ve done it sooner, without the context of… previous events.

Despite being for the most part okay when it was just the two of them, outside of the confines of a room was when she saw the girl at her most vulnerable, constantly looking around and jumping at any slight sound.

Rage was not a foreign emotion for Satsuki, but she felt as though  _ this  _ kind of rage was different. She always resented her mother with obvious good reason… but this was a low that she never thought even she could stoop to.

What she did to her was absolutely, outright,  _ fucking disgusting _ . What she did to her was  _ irreversible _ , she  _ changed her  _ in ways she hadn’t consented to- hadn’t  _ wanted _ .

And what makes it even worse is the fact that she did it to the both of them.

“S-Satsuki…?”

“Hm? What is it, Sumi?”

The minty girl started to chuckle- a much needed reprieve to cast away the heiress’ darker thoughts. “I think you’re thinking a bit too loud.”

“I… what do you mean?”

Sumi looked up at her, with a face of worry and concern. “You look… really angry.”

Oh. She quite literally  _ was  _ thinking too loud. “My apologies… I’m just…  _ upset _ , with recent events.”

“It’s fine, Satsuki… but, I guess… there’s at least some comfort in knowing I’m not alone.”

The two looked in each other’s eyes, Sumi giving her a sorrowful smile.

“Yes… that’s true.” Satsuki sadly smiled back, making the grip on the other girl’s hand a bit more firm.

“So, you uh…” The mint-ette shifted on her feet a bit, along with another quick once-over of the general area. “You were leading me somewhere, remember?”

“Ah, yes, again I must apologize for being so sidetracked with my thoughts.” She partially bowed, but was also unable to hide a small, embarrassed blush.

“It’s alright, but just make sure we get there before sundown, okay?” Sumi joked, putting her free arm on her hip in jest. “I don’t want you to get us lost in the dark!”

The heiress gave an undignified snort- one that the minty girl had not been expecting  _ at all _ , and began to guide her once more. “I suppose you're right, if the light is gone then we’d be stuck in a dark, multi-floored maze.

Passing by a few doors, Sumi began to take notice that there were a lot more bookcases in this part of the house than in any other part, along with a lot more historical memoribilia… where  _ was _ she taking her?

After about a minute or two, they had finally made it to their destination, if them stopping meant that this was the place anyway.

“This, Sumi…” Satsuki gestured with an open palm, to a fairly large set of twin-doors ahead of them. “Is the Kiryūin Library and Archive. Decades worth of books, history, fiction, even film, rest in here.

Parting the doors like the red sea, the library was more the size of an  _ actual library building _ . Many tall rows of books sat evenly apart down the length of the room, multiple moving ladders, many seats, even some projectors were all in this one room. 

“I know you’ve been fond of reading books- if our first meeting was any indication. There were also the various reports you’ve made on some famous titles, likely for school work, but well written nonetheless....”

She flicked a light on, and in a satisfying step-by-step way, rows of lights began to come to life- filling the room with an almost golden glow.

“Our film archives are also quite plentiful. We’ve been acquiring classics throughout the decades, some original, some reprints, but all are on film.”

“O-On film?!” Sumi gasped, practically shaking on the spot as she continued to twirl around the room, taking it all in. “This is so much… so much reading material- so much classic movies to watch- so many  _ things  _ to do!”

Pleasing this scarred girl was honestly? One of the most fun things the young Kiryūin had ever really experienced. She was so excitable, so animated, so warm… She was honestly perfect in ways she couldn’t describe.

She couldn’t believe that on that day, she had come across who she believed to be her soulmate. 

Sumisorano Hoshi was a strong-willed, caring soul, one that fit the bill for what Satsuki saw as an ideal lover  _ perfectly _ . Passionate, kind, capable,  _ pretty _ …

Sumisorano Hoshi was beautiful. She just hoped she could help her reach the beauty she sought for as well.

“Hey, Satsuki?” Came a much more alive voice from the minty girl. “Do you… want to try watching a movie?”

“I… would like that, actually. We have plenty to choose from, after all... why not a few?”

* * *

The two sat closely together in a large plush chair, directly in front of a projector that was playing a movie Sumi and practically begged her to watch- the very first  _ Star Wars  _ film.

She had seen it before, she actually quite enjoyed going to the cinema, but she felt as though she could enjoy it even more when she had someone with her reacting to the film in almost childlike ways.

Gasping at some suspenseful moments, jumping at the swelling soundtrack with glee and even going as far as reciting a few lines she seemed to have completely memorized. It was a much nicer, more comfortable feeling.

But, the sunlight had indeed waned, and now it was time for them to return to bed. A couple of movies under their belt with a promise to see them all.

Except…

“S-Satsuki?”

Sumi looked a lot more skittish, and a lot more stressed if anything. It was a bit sudden, after having worked up to being more calm earlier…

“Hm? What is it, Sumi?”

“I… can I…” She tried to spit out, growing more and more flushed as she continued to work through the lump in her throat. “Do you think I could… s-sleep with you… tonight…?”

Well, she wasn’t expecting that. “I… why do you ask?”

“I-I just…” The girl whimpered, looking away and messing with her hair. “I… no, it’s stupid… I’m sorry…”

“No, please, you can tell me.” Satsuki quickly responded, much quicker than she was honestly expecting herself.

The last thing she wanted was for this girl to fall asleep crying again.

“O-Oh, um…” Sumi quickly began again, now looking with surprised eyes at their heiress. “I-I just… I can’t go to bed alone, not tonight… n-not after…”

Ah, that made sense… why didn’t she think of it herself? She had been following her for the rest of the day… “I understand, Sumi. I’d be more than happy to let you.”

“R-Really?!” The mint-ette gasped, before promptly slapping both hands on her mouth, and flushing a deep red.

“Of course.” Satsuki chuckled, grasping her room’s door handle and opening it. “I wouldn’t let you be alone tonight, I by no means mind you sleeping with me.”

Unable to trust her own words, Sumi bowed her thanks, and followed the raven-haired girl into her room. It hadn’t changed since she last saw it, it all looked as immaculate as it was before…

“I-Is that a sword?!”

“Ah, I see you’ve noticed my  _ Bakuzan _ .”

Sitting on the table they had been talking at last night, was an obsidian black bladed katana with a contrasting white, ornate handle, and a steel guard with two long protruding rods facing the length of the blade.

The raven-haired girl walked over to it, putting away what looked to be cloth of some sort back into a small chest nearby. “I was polishing it much earlier, it slipped my mind that I intended to put it away.”

Unable to control herself, Sumi quickly darted over, closing the distance to inspect the weapon.

“Is this yours…?” She said lowly, staring intently at it, and almost going to touch it, but recoiling before she did.

“Why yes, it is.” Satsuki nodded. “It’s been around since before I was born... I’ve been using it for years, slowly but surely honing my craft; the art of swordsmanship.”

She picked up the sword, and held it in a firm stance- blade to the ceiling. “I’ve never once used it against another person without it sheathed... at least not yet…”

Pointing the blade ahead of her, it shone against the minimal light of the room with a blue glow. “It’s edge is unparalleled, and has been blessed with the unique ability… and being one of the few weapons ever created... to be able to cut Life Fibers.”

“Wait…” One of the few weapons ever created to be able to cut the fibers? She had briefly touched on that subject the night prior, but… “What are the others, the weapons that can cut Life Fibers?”

“Few actually exist, because the man who created them is deceased." She maneuvered her hands expertly, to have one rest on the blade, the other the handle. “Would you like to take a look at the blade? I believe you might be able to find out the answer to that question, if you do.”

“Oh, sure…”

She leaned in close, trying her hardest to not get as much as a vagrant hair on the blade. It was so… intricately crafted. The edge of the blade itself was so dark, the light that could reflect off of it only came out in blue hues. But the hamon itself was so… wild. It didn’t look particularly wavy like most modern blades…

“Is this…” Wait, why was the hamon so wild? It wasn’t modern by that distinction because the only one who really did such an intricate art was... “Is this a “Masamune” blade?”

“Quite correct, indeed it is.” The heir praised, quickly jutting the sword forward and grasping the hilt, before flipping it to the kashira. “This blade was crafted by the legendary Masamune, however the way you see it now, it is of course not of its original era.”

Pressing on the button situated in the center of the pommel, the blade slowly began to unravel itself, causing the leather strapwork to smoothly unfurl, and all that was left was a slender, oval-ish handle of pure metal. “The  _ Bakuzan  _ itself is in reality, just the blade. The original guard, habaki, and handle were much worse for wear… but the blade itself survived  _ decades  _ of decay- with nay a scratch.”

Satsuki calmly took apart the metal handle, separating the rest of the blade itself, allowing the habaki and guard to be easily removed, and the blade in its entirety was shining in its full splendor. “The reason I say that few weapons are capable of destroying the Life Fibers, are partly because development of such technology is mostly unavailable, but also because those who  _ could  _ create such weapons are deceased.”

She twisted the blade back towards Sumi, the nagako on full display. “Now, this may be strange to see… but this is in fact a Masamune blade for multiple reasons. For one, the craftsmanship is unmistakably his own- he had no need for a signature if anybody could easily identify his craft. But…”

Clear as day, we’re two signatures. ‘Masamune,’ and ‘Muramasa.’

“Wait, what?!” Sumi exclaimed, furiously rubbing her glasses before she got a second look, and just gasped a second time. “But Masamune never signed a blade, and even  _ then _ , Masamune and Muramasa were rivals! How could this sword be a collaboration?!”

“It was, indeed, a collaboration, but that was because of the way this sword- and its twin blade- were made to be.” 

“W-What…?”

“This sword was created by the Masamune, while its twin blade, was made by Muramasa. The two swords came to be while the two were alive, of course, but they were a collaboration piece- as both were commissioned to work on these blades at the same time, and for the same purpose.” Twisting the blade back around, she began to slowly put the sword back together, starting first by placing back the habaki and guard.

“They were a part of a series- the Bakuzan and the twin,  _ Asahoshi  _ \- the Morning Star _.  _ Both were commissioned and to be created at the same time, for the same purpose, and to be delivered at the same date… but also to be signed. The existence of the blades were to be as a weapon that never truly saw battle- they were to be intimidation factors and that alone. They were signed for that purpose, by the most legendary of the craft of their time, and whose work was considered the most deadly...”

Placing back the kashira, she began to slowly weave the katana’s straps back into place. “They were made to be used as a power move- to be a symbol, and the two were told to craft them to be their most  _ deadliest  _ swords ever made. That was made reality, thanks to the material the commissioner gave them to work with.”

Tapping a finger against the blade itself, she slowly moved it down the intricate waves. “What they were given… was a Titanium alloy. Now, you may already be thinking how such blades were forged in those times, with a titanium alloy no less, when they have such a high heat resistance…”

She knocked the blade with her knuckle, sending out a pleasant ringing noise. “The titanium… was alloyed with Life Fibers. The reason this blade can cut them down to begin with, is because it was  _ made  _ with the fibers.”

“Wait…” If it was made with the fibers… then who was the person who gave them the metal? “But… who gave them the metal to make the swords, then?”

“The answer, I think you already know. I own this blade for a reason.” She coyly smiled, before finally finishing the last strap, and locking the sword back perfectly in place.

“The-The  _ Kiryūin’s  _ commissioned the swords?!” She gasped again, trying to wrap her head around all of this sudden information. “B-But why would they need them in the first place- why make swords that were designed to destroy the Life Fibers?”

Satsuki chuckled, before making her way to the stray scabbard. “That’s the best part about it, in my opinion. The swords were created for intimidation alone, to say one owned a Masamune and a Muramasa, and to have physical proof, was very much a “power move.” Not only was it indestructible- due to the nature of the hardened fibers- but it was also incapable of being dulled. However… the depth in their folly was that, much like diamonds, Life Fibers can easily destroy other Life Fibers.”

Blade returned to its rightful place, the heiress idly held it close. “Bakuzan and Asahoshi were created to intimidate, and to defend the Life Fiber’s existence by keeping others away with the aforementioned intimidation factor, for when the world was ready to be harvested. But, ironically enough, they can also destroy the very thing they were made to defend.”

“Yeah… it’s kind of weird, though... wouldn’t you think the Kiryūin at the time would’ve known that?” Sumi pondered aloud. “It’s kind of strange how they couldn’t have known… especially when Kiryūin’s are supposed to be protectors of the Primordial Life Fiber…”

“My personal guess?” The heiress nodded, finally hanging the sword back upon its mantle on the wall. “I would like to think they knew that the swords would be capable of destroying the Life Fibers… perhaps they attempted to do what we seek to do now; destroy the fibers and save our world.”

“Maybe… I guess that would be a good answer…” The minty girl hummed, still working through the scenario in her head. “Do you think… maybe the swords were never used, wasn’t because it could’ve been intimidation alone and that was that… but maybe a bid to aid the future generations?”

“I’ve thought about that myself, yes…” Satsuki nodded again. “It was quite strange that such powerful blades were made only for the purpose of being an intimidation factor, let alone out of a material that was guaranteed to survive for... quite possibly a lifetime.”

It was an interesting thought, creating blades so powerful as insurance for the future lineage… gambling for the possibility of one of the future ancestors to use it to defeat the Life Fibers…

“My, we’ve certainly passed plenty of time today, haven't we?” The heir laughed, starting to reach for another blue robe from a dresser.

“H-Hm?” Sumi perked up, looking for a clock in the room, and finding an ornate wall clock that did in fact read that it was late, more accurately 11:36PM.

“It’s nearly 12, I would say that’s more than a good time to return to bed at this point, wouldn’t you?” 

“Y-Yeah, I guess we did do a lot today, huh?” She laughed back, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. 

“Would you like to use a robe for pyjamas? I assure you, they are quite comfy, much more so than just boxers.”

“If that’s fine, I wouldn’t really mind…”

Grabbing an extra robe from the dresser, she draped it over one arm, and made to grab one of her own. “I have plenty, I wouldn’t mind lending you one…”

She hesitated a second, getting caught up on a particular train of thought. “I’ve been meaning to ask… do you own…  _ any  _ female clothing?”

The mint-ette hesitated as well, looking away. “I… n-no, I don’t… Other than the dress you gave me this morning- which thank you for that, by the way- I don’t have anything…”

‘ _ She’s still very far off… _ ‘

“It seems that tomorrow, we’ve got plenty of work to do, don’t we?” Satsuki smiled, handing the other girl the lounging robe. “We need to get you a new wardrobe, and we need to acquire some medication, or at least get that situated.”

“Wh-What?” Sumi squeaked, more hung up on the “medication” part than anything- was she sick? Did… did she get…  _ something  _ from Ragyō? Was that how it worked…?

“I’ve been doing my research in the time apart we’ve had… while I’ve been planning Honnōji, I’ve been looking into what it takes… to help you be who you want to be.” The heiress rested her arms on the other girl’s shoulders, looking straight into her eyes of rose. “You wished to be a girl… and I’ll make sure you can be, no matter what, no matter the cost. You deserve that, Sumi- for you to see how beautiful you really are, to see that beauty I already see myself.”

“I… Satsuki…” She looked up at her, wide eyes staring directly into the Kiryūin’s blazing resolve.

“Now…” She patted them on the shoulder, and gently stroked a vagrant tuft of hair and moved it behind her ear. “You get dressed for the night, okay?”

She couldn’t help but smile wide, a real, genuine smile. “Okay.”

Satsuki Kiryūin was an amazing person… a noble soul. She was steadfast, she was compassionate beyond compare, her selflessness was limitless… She was amazing. 

From that moment… she could tell where her heart laid. She loved the amazing, beautiful woman that was Satsuki Kiryūin.

But… what about Ryuko? She loved her a lot, sure… and her heart still throbbed with pain at her loss… being unable to be with her… being unable to reciprocate that love that she had shown her moments before she left…

Ryuko was as amazing as Satsuki was in her own ways… but even so, she just… yearned more for the Kiryūin. Was it because she was there? Maybe… but, she just wasn’t sure entirely, why Satsuki had felt more right than Ryuko had. Even with all the time they had spent together, Satsuki was just… different. 

What Satsuki was to her… what she was that Ryuko wasn’t…

Was that she had true sympathy to give. She only had a mother and that mother was… much worse than her own, but they could at least  _ sympathize  _ and understood how to properly help each other on the grounds of being truly alone in the world, how to care for each other's lack of a key figure in their life.

She didn’t know a lot about Ryuko… and maybe that’s why she had felt such a stronger connection to the Kiryūin heiress, no matter how shortly they’ve realistically known each other. She was patient, she was understanding, she was equally as tenacious…

Her heart still held love to that girl with the red streak… but her heart loved the raven-haired beauty that was Satsuki Kiryūin even more. And if there was one thing she felt she deserved to have… was happiness.

Satsuki made her happy and fulfilled her more than Ryuko could… it hurt, but it was the proper choice in her eyes… it was the right one. She had to seek her happiness… and that now laid with Satsuki.

_ ‘I’m sorry, Ryuko… but… I need to be happy… I need that feeling of want. I’ll never forget what you’ve taught me and what you’ve given me…’ _

Satsuki held her closely, arms wrapped around her chest and comfortably placed in front of the heiress- the comfortable position of “little spoon.”

_ ‘You were the best, Ryuko… but I just… I can’t. My love lies with someone else… but that doesn’t mean I hate you… or resent you…’ _

“Sumi?” Satsuki asked with a slight drawl and yawn, clearly right on the verge of slumber.

“Yeah, Satsuki?”

_ ‘If I can see you again… I want to tell you that I care for you so greatly… see you so highly… but my heart just can’t love you the way you probably love me… It just wouldn’t feel right.’ _

_ ‘If I can see you again… I want you to know that you’ll still always be my greatest friend… one of the brightest stars of my sky… but I just can’t love you. I just can’t…’ _

Snuggling closer and resting her head deeper into mint curls, Satsuki closed her eyes and let out a content hum. “I love you, Sumi…”

_ ‘...For I love someone else… and that’s okay. Just because I love someone else doesn’t mean I can’t love you… doesn’t mean I can’t still hold you close to my heart.’ _

_ ‘Satsuki makes me truly happy, Ryuko… she truly does… she understands me in ways you can’t- and that’s okay! That’s not a bad thing, Ryuko… not at all.’ _

_ ‘Even if you couldn’t fulfill me in the ways I would like… you still fulfill me in other ways. As a friend… my closest one ever.’ _

_ ‘But… nothing can change that Satsuki is just as scarred as I am… She and I have been cut from the same tattered cloth… sewn different lives but nonetheless of that same material that will forever bond us together, no matter how you stitch it, and what it’s stitched to become.’ _

_ ‘You and I, Ryuko… are different types of cloth. But… ones that compliment each other. I feel such a strong bond with you because I could feel like I could belong with you… But Satsuki…’ _

_ ‘She’s the same as me. She’s the same type of cloth… and having finally found another…’ _

_ ‘That makes me happy… the happiest I’ve ever been, and could ever be.’ _

_ ‘She makes me feel happy… whole… fulfilled…’ _

_ ‘What she makes me feel… is  _ wanted _.’ _

“...I love you too, Satsuki… so very, very much…”

_ ‘And what she makes me feel most of all… is like I finally… belong.’ _


	3. Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 6 Years had passed, and Honnōji Academy is just about complete. The only thing that remains, is a few more small preparations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW for Transphobia and Transphobic Slurs.

**6 Years Later, Present Day**

**Kiryūin Estate**

“The time has finally come... hasn’t it, Sumi?”

“Yeah… it’s honestly kind of scary, but also kind of exciting?”

“Why do you think it’s scary?”

“I mean… holding Bakuzan is one thing, because it’s yours, y’know? I’m  _ allowed  _ to hold it but… this feels like I’m about to open the  _ Ark of the Covenant  _ and I’m one of those Nazi dudes who didn’t know any better.”

The two stood before a bookcase- the furthest back, centermost one of the Kiryūin Library.

Satsuki, over the course of a few years, had grown to be quite the lady. Having grown much taller, hair that went beyond their waist- yet was still just as straight and true as ever. Her features had become a lot more pronounced with age, and yet her build was slim- however noticeably fit, due to years of training and exercise.

“Surely you jest, as dangerous as the  _ Ark of the Covenant  _ was in that work of fiction, a sword couldn’t melt your very being.” The heir chuckled, while searching through the various tomes on the shelf.

“I know I’m probably exaggerating but… Muramasa’s stuff has always been like... demon blades and what not. It’s just kind of… spooky. That and I’m not of Kiryūin blood so what if it’s like… cursed or something?”

“There…” Satsuki whispered to herself as she pulled on a specific book, immediately causing the bookshelf to rumble, and split apart, both sides opening like automatic doors. “They’re only swords, Sumi. I can tell you from experience that Bakuzan hasn’t tried to curse me, so unless Muramasa knew something that Masamune didn’t, I’d say it’s harmless.”

“Yeah… yeah, it’s just my nerves getting the better of me, sorry.” 

Grasping the mint-ette’s hand, Satsuki smiled at her. “It’s alright, this is quite the nerve-wracker. When I had gotten Bakuzan, it was with my mother, and that ordeal was much more worrying when you realized that… you’d be alone with her in a closed off chamber.”

She gripped the other girl’s hand back with a gentle, firm squeeze. “Yeah, I can only imagine…” Sumi chuckled, smiling sadly at the taller heiress, who gave a calm, reassuring smile back.

The small room was dimly lit, and was caked with dust, the only lights giving the room definition coming from the foggy windows, unclean and covered with a layer of grime.

In the very center, sat a long pedestal. One side- the left- was empty, but the other held, still in its scabbard, Bakuzan’s twin blade;  _ Asahoshi _ .

“The last time this room had been entered, was when I had received Bakuzan.”

Walking closer, the pair stepped up the dusty, plush carpeting, leading to the very center of the room, and the pedestal. 

“I had been told I had only one choice… I could only take one, and was to leave the other to rest for the future.” Satsuki reminisced, folding her arms idly and staring down at the sooty blade. “I had chosen the safer option, of course… the Bakuzan. I was young, and believed that katanas crafted by Muramasa truly were cursed…”

Sumi stepped closer herself, going farther than her raven-haired companion, and stood right in front of the timeless sword. “...But, even if that were the case, we don’t have a choice now.” She finished, slowly putting her arms forward to grasp the scabbard.

“Yes… if these blades were to be used by the Kiryūin… if my mother doesn’t wish to use it, then you are the most deserving after her.” The heiress nodded, watching the other girl slowly begin to investigate the weapon.

The sword was similar in design to its twin, likely having been ‘refurbished’ by the same people for the modern era. It’s scabbard having a metal locking mechanism to keep the sword firmly in place, and attaching itself firmly to the ornate guard of the blade itself.

It’s handle’s straps were made of a similar, thick white-stained leather, but weaved down the tsuka in a similar under-over style, but the leather itself had also waved through the open space of the pattern, following the under-over style by diving above and below the twists of each fold in an alternating fashion.

Further down the length of the tsuka, the blade’s hilt was given a similar, button-like holder that kept the straps tightly in place, but the hilt itself wasn’t flat- but instead an almost eye-hook like shape, with open space that had been given a folding tassel-like strap tied to it at the very end, matching the scabbard’s sageo.

“This blade… it’s so…  _ right _ .” Sumi gaped, lightly bouncing the weapon to better grasp its heft. “It’s weight feels so right, the handle feels so grappleable…”

She held firm on the tsuka, and moved her other hand towards the locking mechanism of the scabbard. Pressing her thumb down on one of the parts locking the blade in place- it immediately diss-latched with a satisfying ‘click’ that released the blade, allowing it to be pulled from its sheath like a sword in the stone.

Gaze intent and body prepared, she started to release the blade from its confines, watching the guard go by- given a similar, yet slightly modified Bakuzan guard, that included the metal rods- and the sharp blade started to slowly be revealed… a very similar, dark, obsidian black blade that shone with an almost rosy tint.

As to be expected, the hamon was wavy, and its edge was brilliantly true. The habaki it was given was the same type that the Bakuzan had, but as she continued to pull out the blade, she watched it slowly curve, and finally complete itself as the very tip came free.

“It feels so…  _ me _ .”

Despite its years of rest, the blade was as polished and clear as ever, showing her rosy eyes clear as day through the obsidian barrier.

“God… looking at myself through the reflection of my own blade…” She chuckled loudly, slowly running a finger across the hamon. “I’ve really come a long way… haven’t I?”

In the years that had followed… the two had grown ever closer. Taking the opportunity to use the best of their time before the completion of Honnōji, the two had made an effort to train as much as they realistically could. 

But, most importantly, they put in ample time and effort to give Sumi what she truly sought after… what she truly wished.

As it was promised, Sumi had been able to go to high rated doctors from across the globe, received expert vocal training, saw frequent therapy visits, filled out a wardrobe she could be truly happy with and comfortable wearing- ‘ _I can even_ _purchase my own makeup!_ ’

As it was promised, she was finally able to see… the beauty Satsuki saw in her.

Her hair was still only shoulder length- having experimented with longer hair and not really enjoying it as much as she thought- but it was just as minty, and curly as ever. It danced around her head like calm waves, it bobbed to even her simplest of motions and was as smooth as silk…

Her body was finally something she could be proud of… and able to look at without feeling an intense feel of distaste or dysphoria. It was weird to admit, but having finally received a bust felt… in its own way, relieving. It was a learning process getting used to it, finally exploring the world of “what size bra do I need?” was an interesting experience.

She was embarrassed to verbally admit it, but she honestly felt happy that her chest had grown a considerable amount… it gave her confidence- that she wasn’t just someone who could pass, but someone who could  _ be _ .

But, the time it took to get there was a learning process and a half… experiencing first hand what hormones could do to her- what they could  _ change _ \- was one of the strangest parts of her life.

Her overall muscle mass had gone down, but that was normal, and irrelevant to the fact that she was regardless stronger than she used to be. Her skin was softer, her body wasn’t as oily, her hair didn’t fall out in troves… the parts she had, began to heavily reduce in function.

It felt good…  _ she  _ felt good. She looked good, she sounded good-  _ she  _ was good.

She was finally proud of her body… and she had one person to thank for it all.

“You most certainly have…” Satsuki smiled fondly, watching the other girl return the blade to its scabbard. “You’ve grown into quite the woman, a beautiful one as well.”

“Yeah… I really have, haven’t I?” Sumi smiled back, holding the sword with one hand, adjusting her glasses with the other, before stopping, and blushing. “I-I wouldn’t say  _ beautiful _ …”

“Well, if you won’t say it… then I will.” The heiress laughed, making her way over to Sumi, leaning down and giving her a small kiss right on the forehead. “Sumisorano Hoshi, you are the most beautiful, fairest maiden I’ve ever laid my eyes upon… You’re strong, passionate, iron-willed… you’re an amazing person, Sumi… and the most beautiful girl I know.”

“S-Satsuki!!” The girl squeaked, trying to hide her face with the one free hand she had- unable to stop the deep flush from spreading to the tips of her ears. “D-Don’t just do that!!”

“I can…” She chuckled, pulling the other girl in a close embrace. “And I very much will.”

It was a bit difficult to hug back, given they were still holding a 13-14th century sword in their hands, but she still tried. Wrapping her arms around her and holding the sword out, she squeezed back.

“I love you, Satsuki…”

“And I love you, Sumi.”

* * *

The time was steadily approaching, closer and closer. Honnōji was finished, but it wasn’t totally  _ finished _ . They had the week to fully prepare the building, run maintenance tests and install proper security, and lastly- begin production of the first  _ Goku Uniforms _ .

Dressed in matching militaristic garbs, Satsuki and Sumi began to encroach upon the absolutely massive man-made monolith of an island. The limousine thrummed against the recently pavemented spiral road, the slums passing them by slowly but surely.

Many people were already living in the wooden shacks, a lot more than expected even, if the mass amounts of people on the streets was anything to go by.

As the vehicle slowly rose higher and higher, the 1-Star district came into view, consisting of multiple complex-like buildings, general streets and shopping locations, people were still slowly moving in, utilizing a combination of the road and the tram system to take heavy loads of boxes into their apartments.

The 2-Star district was next, consisting of much pricier, fancy estates that varied in size and lavishness as they continued to ascend. 

While not designated, lastly was the 3-Star’s district- homes for only that of the Elite 4, Satsuki, and Sumi- despite the latter two never really using them.

In the passing years, the Elite 4 was properly formed, and so was the finalized Student Council.

Nonon Jakuzure, the Non-Athletic Committee chairwoman and runner of the school’s Music club, and conductor of the school’s personal Orchestra. She was the first of the council Sumi had ever met- and their first meeting was… not the best. Suffice to say Nonon didn’t like Sumi all that much at first- seeing her as “competition for Satsuki” instead of an ally or partner, but over the years, she had grown some form of respect for the girl- she was strong, and she could at least recognize that she was in another league.

The next in line was Ira Gamagōri, an extremely tall, goliath of a man, who was appointed the Disciplinary Chair, and managed the school’s defenses, social workers, overall attendance, and of course- discipline. She had been with a doctor when Satsuki had recruited the man, and apparently she bested him in a duel when he himself was wearing  _ iron armor plating _ . The man swore an oath to her that day- same as she had- and has since been at her side, as her impenetrable wall.

Thirdly, was the once-rogue hacker Hōka Inumuta, the Information and Strategy Committee Chairman. He was attempting to break in to- and had even succeeded- the REVOCS Corporation’s firewall as nothing more than a  _ challenge  _ and to prove that he could, as well as plummeting their stocks for only a moment, for reasons he himself didn’t even know, or at least didn’t admit. He managed everything tech-oriented the school had, and worked alongside Gamagōri to set up the school’s defenses- high tech, customized cameras sat in every room, wi-fi faster than fast and terminals more advanced than a modern supercomputer they just needed to be tested.

Lastly, was the vagrant delinquent, Uzu Sanageyama. Given the title of Athletic Committee chair to compliment Nonon, he managed all physical sports clubs, ran his own Sparring club, would manage all out-of-school games, and had a keen eye that made him a very formidable opponent to fight against. He was always looking for a chance to fight her or Satsuki- wishing to prove he can beat the heiress, or her personally trained “disciple.” He was recruited when he attempted to instigate a gang war with the upcoming Honnōji- to strike the iron while it was hot- and had only managed to get himself, and all his groupies, beaten by a few-years-young Satsuki.

The Elite 4 were all sworn oath to her, would always follow her, and would also help aid in the attempts to rid the world of the Life Fibers.

Sumi had gotten to know them all well, having spent plenty enough time with each of them to get a very good grasp of their personalities, and interests. Gamagōri was a rule-following nut that was always respectful, always confident, and always ready to take a bullet- or many- for any of the Elites.

Inumuta was a data-nut that never stopped typing things down, jotting things down, and never stopped keeping things as up-to-date as possible. He was an expert of his craft and a force to be reckoned in his own right. She just wished he stopped trying to measure her dimensions so often, for “Transgender development data.”

Sanageyama was a loose cannon- he was animated and wild, and usually the one to crack jokes. He was a bit slow on the uptake sometimes, but he was an absolute warrior on the battlefield. His special ability of the “Higi-Tengantsu” that allowed him to predict movements being the main reason. He was an amazing fighter- one Sumi could just barely beat even with his significant advantage, but over time she had only gotten better with her own swordsmanship, and later learned from the “master” herself how to move like she could- precise, resolute hits that held no uncertainty, rendering his technique useless.

Sumi was no Satsuki- but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t a bad fighter. Satsuki was just  _ inherently  _ stronger, but she was proud to say that years worth of training got her to a point where the two would usually only draw in a physical battle. 

What’s more, the two partners had also tried a different form of training- competitive chess. Sumi knew she was smart- whether they really accepted that or not- and she enjoyed the fight Satsuki put up in chess, as well as her intellect in general. When they weren’t sparing, or training sword skills, they were either going on a ‘date,’ or playing chess.

No time limit, maximum of 1 hour per move, alternating games of white and black, sometimes even getting fun and removing some pieces from the board before they actually played, to see how well they could work with what they had.

Satsuki had won a majority of the time in the beginning- she was simply on another strategic level. But, over time, Sumi had begun to master the game- master the heiress’ levels of meticulous planning and cunning. 

After a few years, they had gotten to a mental level to where they couldn’t win against each other- no matter the handicap- they had always deadlocked, just like in sparring. The only thing Satsuki had that Sumi couldn’t compare to- was her extreme levels of resolve. 

Sumi had begun to steel her heart, but she couldn’t compare to the “iron hearted” Satsuki herself. She felt confident in what she’s been doing was just, understood the stakes of their mission, was ready to do whatever she had to- but even she couldn’t shake that some aspects of the “job” were likely going to affect her.

One thing that had gone out the window was the remorse for killing Ragyō. She deserved death- absolutely she did. She did things she had no right to- things Sumi or Satsuki couldn’t stop, and she abused. But even so, she still felt as though she needed to hold back- show remorse for any foe regardless of how bad they were.

She was steeled, but that part always broke free. She just simply wasn’t able to put that part down, that was just in her nature. She was a kind hearted soul- and that couldn’t be changed.

“Soroi, are the other Council members present at the Academy?” Satsuki asked, while idly checking her own blade for a few moments, inspecting its luster.

“Yes, My Lady. They had informed me that they are all present, and waiting.

“I guess it’s finally time, huh?” Sumi looked to the heiress, sword laid across the seats- held with a seatbelt for good measure.

“It certainly seems so.” Satsuki nodded, finally putting her sword back in its sheath and looking at her companion. “I hope you’re ready, Student Council Vice-President.”

“You as well, Ms. President.” Sumi smirked, before getting put easily off balance by a sudden jolt in the vehicle. “G-Gah, my glasses!!”

“Sincerest apologies, Young Miss, but I believe some young boy tried to purposefully get hit by the vehicle.”

Scrambling for her glasses- finally finding them resting on the plush interior carpeting, she put them back on and sighed with relief that they didn’t somehow scratch. “It’s alright, Soroi… wait, did some guy just try to shark us out of money in  _ actual _ medical bills?”

“Seems like it, a young boy and their dog.” Satsuki hummed, completely unperturbed, watching the twin perpetrators shout angrily at the back of the vehicle.

“Well… first time for everything.”

* * *

‘Sumisorano Hoshi- Student Council Vice President’ was a title she never expected to have in her life, in any school. She wasn’t one to ever gloat, but it wasn’t like being a student council president for a  _ normal  _ school was actually difficult. 

She was an extreme academic- she took the hardest courses and aced them without fail, she sought after the most complex of stories to read, she took herculean academic task after task. It was no wonder that Satsuki was able to easily keep an eye on her despite how long they were apart back then- she was best in the state, and top 10 in the  _ country _ , at the age of 11.

As smart as she was, that didn’t mean that she wanted to “assert her dominance” over others with it. She wanted to learn, and do so quietly. She never joined a club, never ran for student council, never really bothered with anything other than seeking out an even higher education. 

Going without school was an interesting shift, but she had only gotten smarter regardless. Satsuki was simply unparalleled- it was a shock when she figured out she never bothered with school really _ever_ other than in her earliest years, and managed to be smarter than her. 

She learned a lot from Satsuki, in many different fields she never even thought she would explore. She learned how to fight, bare handed and with a sword, raised her academic level to a point she probably would’ve  _ never  _ gotten to with normal schooling- at least until she was much, much older. Satsuki was an amazing person, one who she was proud to call hers, and was proud that she called Sumi theirs.

But… even after all she’s been through, what was going to happen in the future? She was set to face off with  _ clothing aliens  _ and their messiah that just so happened to own one of the biggest companies on the planet, and quite literally had the world in her fingers. She trusted Satsuki- had absolute faith that they would win… but it was still such an unclear and uncertain future that they were in, and she was going to fight for it, and make sure it’s saved.

She wasn’t going to lose another loved one.

“Sumi?”

“H-Hm?” The aforementioned perked up, realizing the vehicle had stopped.

“You’ve been lost in thought for quite a bit, is everything alright?” Satsuki asked, allowing her mask to be removed- only for her- to show clear concern on her features.

“Yeah… yeah, I’m alright, sorry, was just thinking a lot I guess…” She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, trying to look away, but only managed to keep looking back in the heiress’ eyes.

“It’s alright, Sumi.” She sighed, making to grab her sword. “Do you wish to tell me about it later?”

“Y-Yeah… I can, sorry for making us wait…” Sumi made to grab for her own, unbuckling it and holding it tight in her right hand.

“We hadn’t been waiting, it’s alright.” Satsuki smiled, resting the blade in her lap as Soroi made to open her door. “Just don’t let things get to you, alright?”

“Yeah, thank you, Satsuki.” The mint-ette smiled back, slowly following after her partner as she made her way out of the vehicle.

The entrance to Honnōji was absolutely  _ massive _ , its walls smooth and hard to scale, multiple sentry points having been made to watch over the rest of the island, all to protect the absolutely goliathan school building.

It shot upwards into the sky, nearly eclipsing the sun itself, casting a massive shadow over the entirely vacant front school yard- which was nothing more than ground up rock and dirt. It was well and truly a castle for the kingdom that was Honnō Town. 

Standing at the very center of the massive plain, was the rest of the council, and the honorary member in the Sewing Club President; Shirou, eagerly awaiting the approaching council presidents.

Inumuta and Sanageyama were practically even in height, as were Nonon and Shirou, but Gamagōri easily dwarfed all of them, seemingly only getting bigger the closer they approached the man- almost as if his very height was only an illusion, or he could just  _ choose  _ how tall he wanted to be.

And, as classy as ever, Inumuta was tapping away at his phone, likely already updating his data again to account for the fact that Sumi showed up with Asahoshi.

“Would you like me to carry Bakuzan, Satsuki?” Sumi offered, seeing fit to fill just a bit of the silent air.

“It’s alright, Sumi. I can carry my own blade.” She smiled back. “But, I appreciate the offer.”

Finally, the two made their way to the awaiting elites, who hadn’t yet stopped bickering to themselves.

“...Honestly, who does she think she is?” Nonon growled, looking mostly away with a pout. “Getting all buddy-buddy with my Satsuki like that… living with her too…”

“I don’t see why I need to update her data to say she’s a “Kiss-ass” though.” Inumuta sighed, continuing to tap away, ignoring the annoyed puffs from Nonon. “She’s officially our superior,  _ and  _ is Satsuki’s appointed second, she by definition has to be a “kiss-ass” if she is to do her job.”

“Which is why you  _ should  _ put it on there, snake. It’s  _ right _ !” The pink haired fireball shot back, now angrily tapping her foot against the ground.

“Yes, while that is true, it’s also unnecessary. I don’t see why I should need to when it clogs up actual important information. It’s not like you’ll see it anyways.”

Stamping his mammoth foot down, everybody turned to Gamagōri, who had begun to bow. “Welcome, Lady Satsuki, Lady Sumisorano!”

The rest of them quickly followed suit, repeating the same line of “Welcome, Lady Satsuki, Lady Sumisorano!” With the only exception of Nonon refusing to acknowledge Sumi.

“E-Ehehe…” Sumi chuckled awkwardly, not expecting such an official welcome. “P-Please, you guys… just call me Sumi…”

“But to do so would be informal!” Gamagōri shouted back, standing up as straight as a board. “You are our superior, and we should refer to you as such!”

“Then, can I make a decree that you all just call me “Sumi” instead?” She shrugged, looking to Satsuki, who looked back with an expression of having no objections.

“I… I suppose you could do that, yes…” Gamagōri relented after a moment, still as loud as ever. “But-“

“Then I guess that settles it then- I’m “Lady Sumi,” okay?” The mint-ette smiled. “Sumisorano is too weird for me, too uncomfortable.”

Gamagōri immediately went to bow, groveling on the ground in front of her and causing a massive rumble around them as he hit the dirt. “Then please- forgive me, Lady Sumi!! I didn't mean to make my superior uncomfortable!!”

“I-It’s okay, big guy…” She gently pat the giant man on the back, unsure of really how else to handle the situation. “Not like you really knew, we haven’t had the most time to hang out ourselves outside of official business.”

With a loud clack of her heel, Satsuki gathered the attention of the small crowd to her, causing Gamagōri to immediately shoot back up- and nearly taking Sumi with him.

“We’re all here today, because the construction of Honnōji Academy has officially been completed. However, we still need to properly test out equipment, memorize the building, and begin production of our first wave of  _ Goku Uniforms _ .”

Using her sword to point towards the sky, she pointed it directly at the sun. “We have only the rest of the day today, and the rest of the week, to get this academy officially up and running by Monday- the first day of school.”

Putting her blade back down to the earth, scabbard resting against the dirt and hands on top of the pommel, she stared intently at her council. “I take it you all have already received your maps, and studied them well?”

A resounding “yes!” came from the group, and Satsuki nodded. “Very well, you are to each handle your designated zones, testing every single bit of equipment you have- readying every single classroom for use, and making note of any potential oversight, or possible problems to be rectified. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Lady Satsuki!” The group shouted out once again in unison, all bowing in front of her.

“Good. Now, if you please, the Vice President will tell you the rest.”

Resting her sword back in her hand, Satsuki stepped back slightly, giving the spotlight to Sumi, who nodded at the recognition.

“I’ve already taken the school’s entire layout, and classroom inventory to memory. Every classroom should have exactly: 4 cameras, 52 student desks, 54 chairs- 2 extra, a working computer, monitor, keyboard, projector, fresh box of chalk, pencils, whiteboard, working P.A. and emergency button, fire alarm and sprinklers, and a long bookshelf with provided reading material for the specific class.” She recited from memory, going to adjust her glasses absentmindedly mid-sentence.

“Because I do not expect you all to remember each and every small item, I have taken the time to create for you each, a personalized key for which book, utensil, and material, belong in what classroom.” Nodding to Inumuta, he nodded back, and whirled around a duffel bag he kept behind him, pulling out multiple small binders.

“Each of the provided binders will tell you exactly what item belongs where. Most importantly, each classroom should have 56 books exactly- 4 extra, of multiple kinds of reading material, some totalling to 112, others 168 depending on the class itself, and they should already be in perfect condition. Any damaged books should be reported when we meet back up at the end of our day, at the Sewing Club room. Do I make myself clear?”

Everybody- with the exception once again of Nonon- confirmed with a “Yes, Lady Sumi!”

She smiled back at the small group. “Okay, one last thing… some things on your sheets have not arrived yet, and will arrive on the coming Wednesday. Those things are highlighted in red, and shouldn’t need to be checked. Those should include things like paper, folders, erasers, pencil sharpeners, and a majority of the Health classes textbooks. Those are coming in the next shipment.”

The group nodded their heads in confirmation, and Sumi smiled. “Now then… please, let’s get started!” She finished with a quick clap- holding her sword against her chest for a moment to do so.

“Hell yeah!!” Sanageyama whooped, starting to rush down the field towards the school. “Time to check out all the sick gym shit!!”

“Keep the vulgarity in check, Sanageyama!” Gamagōri barked at him, barreling after the vulgar young adult.” 

Everybody quickly made haste to enter the school, with Inumuta and Shirou choosing to go at a more moderate pace, leaving behind only one; Nonon.

And she didn’t look… particularly happy, for some reason.

“Hey, Sumisorano.” They began, tamping their foot impatiently. “I need to talk to you, got any time?”

“I… yeah, I do…” She nervously nodded, looking over to Satsuki for a moment, who looked mostly indifferent. “What do you need?”

“What I  _ need  _ is for you to come with me.” She scoffed, grabbing the other girl by the arm and dragging her towards the building.

“H-Hey, I can walk just fine!!”

* * *

Her relationship with Nonon had been… rocky. 

For the most part, Nonon was annoyed with them for reasons that she wasn’t able to parse, because most of the time it just seemed she was angry with them for no real good reason.

As far as she could tell, Nonon simply hated her just because she was close to Satsuki- closer than she was physically, and metaphorically. She was aware that Nonon had known the girl longer than she had, knew that they met in a grade school and have been around each other for a majority of their lives since, it wasn’t like she hadn’t studied the girl and her history with her partner.

She was mostly rude towards the girl- never caring about anything they really said, and never really caring about what did and didn’t make them comfortable. She was ruthless with her, and she was just lucky enough that she had the thick skin to take it.

“H-Hey, where are we going?” Sumi tried speaking up, still letting her drag them through the building- nearing the Music areas, which at least felt fitting.

The pink girl suddenly stopped, which was at least better than being dragged along-

A sharp, quick, and powerful slap hit her cheek.

“Who in the  _ hell  _ do you even think you are?!”

“I… w-what…?”

“You’re such an annoying, kiss-ass!!” She shouted right in her face, giving her no room to breathe as she continued her verbal onslaught. “Do you honestly think I’m going to just be  _ okay  _ with how you’ve been fucking  _ using _ my closest friend the way you are, living in her home, using her money, using her kind-hearted nature for your own gain?!”

“W-What…?”

“ _ Oh _ , don’t act like you don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about!!” She slapped her again, the same place, but much harder. “You’ve literally been  _ using her  _ since the start, you have some chance meeting that causes her to “fall for you” and end up being entered into her own family because of her good nature, only to use that for your stupid  _ fucking  _ med addiction, and to buy your shitty frilly clothes, you fucking  _ drag queen _ !!” 

What…?

“D-Drag… queen…?”

“You fucking use her charity to feed your shitty fucking  _ fetish _ \- like oh wow, look at you, all cute and stuff!” She continued to mock and insult, glaring daggers right into her. “Now look at you, the perfect “ _ princess _ ” has all the shit in the world she’s ever wanted- she’s a  _ girl  _ now, how amazing, like one of those classic fucking  _ Disney _ movie that you can’t stop watching!!” She accentuated with air quotes, scoffing in her direction after she was done.

Why… why does she know all this…?

“Well now you’re here, made it all the way up the second highest seat in the kingdom, you’ve got your own throne!!” She mock-congratulated, giving her an intense round of applause. “Now: you’ve got no fucking excuse for hiding how weak and worthless you are,  _ hooray _ , you wasted all of our goddamn time!!”

She quickly spun around her, staring intently right at her back. “We’ve got the “scarred girl” on our side now- the enemy should just surrender knowing that they’ll be beating up on the sad, scarred,  _ powerless princess _ that weazled her way into Satsuki’s heart.”

Sumi just stood there and took it.

“So good job,  _ good job _ , you got what you wanted, and now you’re just trying to milk it for all its worth now?” She continued to sneer, twisting back around to face her dead on. “So you can keep getting your little girl pills and injections, so you can keep using _ my Satsuki _ ?”

Sumi dropped Asahoshi to the floor, it clattered against the hard concrete, releasing the blade and causing it to nearly launch right out of the scabbard entirely.

“Oh, that's  _ right _ .” She made to pick up the fallen sword, holding it in her arms. “You took her fucking  _ family sword  _ too, I almost forgot about that part.”

“The hell do you even think it  _ means  _ to hold this thing?” She laughed, properly putting the sword back in it’s scabbard. “This is her fucking  _ birthright _ , and even if she agreed to it- do you think you deserve to even come  _ near  _ this thing with your gross, lying mitts?”

She held it under her arm, in a tight grip. “You think you can just steal Satsuki’s heart, use her wealth and good will to make your tramp-ass this perfect fucking princess, take her birthright, and I’ll just let you  _ get away with that _ ?”

…

“I don’t know how you could’ve possibly done what you did for so long, but I’m not going to let you continue, not the  _ fuck _ at all.” She had the audacity to spit on her heel- the heel of the uniform Satsuki had given her for her position. “I’ve never liked you, not from the start… I couldn’t even  _ understand  _ why Satsuki would ever fucking be around someone like you, some complete stranger she found groveling in the dirt. She only even saw  _ fit  _ to help you because of the shit she looked into about you- the vulnerability of having no family that cared about you.”

She leaned in close, very close. “Well guess the fuck what? You got her charity for shit that she would’ve done for anybody- you just got lucky enough that she saw potential in such a pitiful person, that you used to get all the shit you’ve ever wanted- abused her one vulnerability: her compassion for people in similar situations to hers.”

Her face was practically right against theirs. “You were smart, one of the smartest people she’s ever known. You used that to get as far as you have, and nothing more. You were smart, played your hand into her heart, and when everything is said and done- you’re going to leave with all the riches you stole and break her heart... That’s what people like  _ you  _ do… put up a front and lie.”

…

“Now how about, you back the fuck off from her, and back the  _ fuck _ -” She shoved her back, causing her to stumble and fall on her haunches. “Out from this fucking game you’re trying to play. This is  _ life and death _ ... Do you think all this Life Fiber shit was going to be the perfect distraction for your little Trojan Horse scheme?”

She leered down at her, looking over her with a smug grin. “Well you got your little girl pills, you’re a  _ princess  _ now! So you can get the fuck out then, if you were strong you wouldn’t be pushed around so easily, let alone by someone a head shorter than you.”

Lowering herself down further, her grin turned to scowl, her scowl turned to raw anger. “You’re weak, you’re the sacrificial pawn in your own little chess game world… you’re smart and nothing more, and just that alone won’t help you save the whole fucking world- if you even  _ planned  _ to help.”

Nonon finally relented, and stood back up straight. She peered down at the sobbing girl with-

‘ _ Wait… when did they start crying? _ ’

Sumi’s eyes were barely open- when they were they were a deep red- with streams of hot and heavy tears falling down their face, their neck, landing in pools on the floor, until they eventually started to curl in on herself, sobbing hard into their knees, their white spandex being dyed a dark grey with precipitation.

They shook, shuttered, bawled… most of all, they kept mumbling- constantly mumbling-

only apologies.

“I’m sorry’s,” “I didn’t mean to’s,” “You’re right’s,” all she was doing was  _ agreeing  _ with everything she said, while groveling on the floor like she broke. 

“Well, you’ve  _ certainly _ made your point, Jakuzure.”

She made a sharp turn on her heel, to see the person the topic centered around, standing at the end of the hallway with an unreadable look, face covered with the shadows from her bangs.

It was Satsuki.

“You know I trust you, Jakuzure… but, I trust Sumi as well.”

Heels began to clack against the floor, their reverberation throughout the hallway. “I understand that you are only protective of me… But this?” She gestured with her free hand, towards the cowering Sumi. “You demoralized her, insulted her, called her a hack- a  _ drag queen  _ even.”

She walked past the stunned pink conductor, and knelt down over Sumi- who didn’t even respond.

“Why did I give so much to this scarred, weak girl, you ask?”

A hand caressed the crying girl’s now red cheek, before moving up to move stray locks of mint curls behind her ear.

“I gave so much because I saw someone truly strong… someone intelligent… someone beautiful, underneath that scarred shell where they were forced to live.”

She raised the girl up, sitting her down properly, and giving a kiss to her temple. “I understand our past grievances, Jakuzure… but you must understand that even back then- I knew that you and I… simply were incompatible, in the romantic regard.”

Looking the pink girl in the eyes, she gave them a somber smile. “I don’t agree with what you did, or said, to Sumi... but I can at least understand your want to still protect me, I can even understand your pain… but most importantly, you have yet to fully understand  _ hers _ .”

She gently rested the sobbing girl in her lap, and started slowly caressing her hair. “It’s not my place to talk of such secrets… but it seems as though they need to be spoken… If you cannot understand why I chose her romantically, and entrusted with her this same mission I have entrusted you with.”

The girl in her lap slowly started to mellow down, but tears still fell. “Sumisorano Hoshi has been through pain similar to yours, yes, but that is only on the most basic level. I’ve told you things she had entrusted to me, because I had trusted you to keep them secret… you know full well the scars on her back are permanent marks on her being that won’t fade, of a past of abuse that she had never deserved.”

“She wanted nothing more than to be who she is now, and she had no ability to do so. I fully agree- the reason I was so infatuated with them was because of how sympathetic I feel for those who are in similar situations... but once I had gotten to know her better, understand her better, I understood more and more that I truly felt as though she was meant for me.”

Hands smoothly caressed mint curls, working out small rebellious knots. “She was a scarred soul born in a body with which they did not belong… a beautiful flower stuck yet to bud, and planted in an unfavorable climate, in infertile soil on top of that… but even so, she hadn’t died- she continued living on.”

“When I finally had gotten my shot to bring them closer to me, into my life more properly, I took it the moment I could. I was 11 then, I was much more impulsive than I am now… but I do not regret it- not a single bit. I spent the years we were apart researching how to well and truly help this pained soul- how to grow this beautiful flower.”

Nonon started to slump down, eventually sitting down entirely, right across from the heiress.

“It was no skin off my back paying for her medical bills, vocal training, therapy sessions, appearing at frequent doctors appointments… she had nothing, while I had nothing and everything…” She smiled as Sumi’s tears began to finally stop, now slowly hobbling herself back up. “I saw it fit to help give this girl who touched my heart the things she simply couldn’t have… I helped give Sumisorano Hoshi the body they desired- nay,  _ deserved _ \- one that they could feel comfortable in… one that they could be proud of, and see the beauty I myself saw in her since the beginning.”

The heiress stared at Nonon with a serious, piercing glare. “I fully understand your viewpoints and your worries… but I am not a child, Jakuzure. Sumi is an extreme academic, but I am too. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that… but the point being, the possibility that she could be using me would’ve been noticed long ago.”

She continued to stroke the mint curls of her partner, allowing them to rest themselves on her shoulder. “She and I have shared a lot of pain… and she still stands- despite being so “weak.” We’ve gone through similar things… and I say that on the most real level. While her parents didn’t turn out to be Ragyō… she had been affected by her in the same, disgusting ways that I have… and I put her in that position.”

“Wait…” Nonon finally spoke, eyes growing wide at the serious statement. “She… she didn’t... did she...  _ violate  _ her…?”

“Yes, indeed she did…  _ has _ … multiple times throughout the years, as she has me, ever since we had become of a ‘proper’ age.” Satsuki nodded solemnly, holding her partner close. “It… was completely out of my control, and she had every right to leave me at any time… but she never did, not once. If she wanted only my charity... she wouldn’t go through repeat molestation to continue getting it.”

Well, that at least put a few things into a better perspective for Nonon. She… really had overstepped some lines in her tirade, didn’t she?

“I trusted you to keep some of the things I said a secret, because I trusted you would help me keep this girl close to my heart, not use them as fuel to stoke the flames of your hatred. I know it’s been unfavorable for you… but, I had thought we’d gotten past that hurdle. I don’t expect you to be friends with Sumi, but I expect you to be able to work with them and give them the respect they deserve.”

Sumi finally began to wipe away her own tears, mumbling her apologies to the heiress as she did.

“She is your superior, and second in command for a  _ reason _ . She’s strong, capable, and can stand on  _ my  _ level. She holds the Asahoshi because it’s her right… she became an honorary member of the Kiryūin clan, and it’s her birthright as much as it is mine to wield the family’s blades. If you wish to contest that claim… you can refer to one Ragyō Kiryūin- the one who had given her what she thinks is a ‘Kiryūin birthright.’”

The mint-ette mumbled something to Satsuki she couldn’t hear, and when she nodded, they had gotten up, and began to walk down the hall- turning into the women’s room. “As much as you resent her… she’s still a capable member of this team. She’s helped me plan, she’s helped me train, she’s helped me  _ live _ . And I fully expect you to respect her, and her position, if you can respect me and my position.”

“I…” The pink conductor began, slowly feeling the guilt climb up her spine. “I… I really did hurt her, didn’t I…?”

“Indeed you did.” Satsuki nodded, continuing to look at her sternly.

“A-And what’s she doing now…?”

“Washing up in the women's room. Is that also a problem?”

“No, no it’s not… I just…” Nonon lowered her head, trying to shape the words properly- and to not make her look like even more of an ass. “I feel like such a jerk…”

“And you are one.” The heiress deadpanned back, staring at her even more sternly. “You said horrible, demeaning statements, and made accusations that cannot be easily taken back. And now, it’s your job to correct it.”

“I… alright, alright.” She finally relented, resting her head on the palm of her hand. “I… I can’t promise I’ll like her instantly, though…”

“Again, this job requires teamwork, and understanding. If friendship is not possible, don’t let it affect your ability to work together.” Satsuki made to stand up, before holding out her hand. “Now, if you would like to stop being hypocritical, can you return to me the Kiryūin birthright?”

Oh, she forgot she was still holding onto Asahoshi…

“Geez, you’re being awfully harsh all of a sudden…” Nonon pouted, holding out the sword for Satsuki to take.

“Do you think I should treat you even more harshly? For how lowly and degradingly you spoke of my girlfriend, you’re getting off awfully light. If you have any complaints, you may speak up, but I do not think you’re truly in any place to.”

“N-No no, I’m okay!!” The pink conductor squeaked, holding her arms up in surrender.

Stopping in place just before she went back out into the hall, she could feel her face flush. Despite having been together for years, Satsuki had never really used that term before around others… But when said with so much  _ conviction _ ...

‘ _ I… Yeah… I think I’m head-over-heels for this girl… _ ’

* * *

Barring Nonon’s ‘confrontation,’ the rest of the day went smoothly. The council made quick work- having checked every classroom on  _ day one _ , fully checked off everything on the checklist of things to look over, the fire alarms and P.A. systems were fully operational, as was the emergency systems...

Apart from some things that simply could not be tested, such as the  _ Final Defense Apparatus _ , the school was checked top to bottom, and left them plenty of free time to finalize everything they could, should they need it.

However, Shirou and Inumuta still needed the time to get  _ Goku Uniform _ production started, so the remaining elites had decided to return to their personal meeting place- the Student Council room.

It was fairly modestly sized, and overlooked the entirety of the school’s grounds below, through massive windows that were currently opened- having been previously covered by cloth blinds. Various ornate chairs were sat around a long, ovalish table in the center, a bar off on the left and the entrance to the council’s in-school chambers on the right, the only other key detail was the massive monitor on the back wall of the room.

It was elevated along with the steps up it took to get to the Student Council President’s chairs, ornate, swivel-chairs that were designed to be egg-shaped, and as plush as the rest of the seating in the room- barring the bar stools.

“Damn, the nerds down in the Sewing Club sure are taking their sweet time…” Sanageyama sighed, twirling his trademark bamboo sword around above his head. “How long do we got left, anyways?”

“You sound like a child…” Nonon sighed. “We still got an hour left to wait, you can just take a nap or something.”

“Already tried… these chairs are soft, but the air in here is so stiff…”

“I have to say I agree as well.” Gamagōri interjected. “The air quality could use some work, it’s unbearably dry.” 

And even Sumi had to admit she’d been feeling a sore throat coming on… “We could vote to make arrangements for the humidifier to be updated, what do you think, Satsuki?”

“I have to say I agree as well, I severely miscalculated how humid the building would actually be.” She nodded, slowly taking a sip from a cup of tea.

“Wait, where’d-”

“Forgive me, Young Miss, did you want a cup of tea as well?” Soroi kindly offered, holding out a platter of tea kettle and cup.

“I… I didn’t even notice you were in here…” She chuckled. “I would like some tea, yes, if that’s okay.”

“Certainly, Young Miss.”

Well, I guess that answered why the room was outfitted with a bar of all things- to account for the fact that Soroi would likely be there as well, considering he for the most part followed her and Satsuki around unless explicitly told not to.

“Yo, Soroi, I’d love a cup too!” Sanageyama called, before getting promptly smacked on the head by his own sword. “H-Hey, the hell was that for, Gamagōri?!”

“You need to work on your manners, that’s what.” He scoffed. “If you can’t handle a single blow from your own,  _ non-lethal _ weapon, you may as well be fighting with a pool noodle.”

“Hah, good one, toad!” Nonon snorted loudly, holding her hand up to high-five the giant man, which despite the nickname- was returned.

“Hey, teaming, I call  _ teaming _ ! That’s unfair!!” The green vandal shouted, pointing angrily at the other elites. “You can’t tag team, that ain’t cool!!”

He quickly turned to face the Presidents, and pointed directly at Sumi. “Hey- Lady Sumi, help me out will ya?!”

“W-Why me?!” She exclaimed, trying to quickly work down the tea she was attempting to drink before she was suddenly enlisted for war.

“Because Lady Satsuki wouldn’t- she’s biased!!”

“I assure you, I can remain impartial.” Satsuki chuckled, setting down her now empty cup of tea on a small table to her right. “However, I still refuse to help. You can work through this problem on your own- especially if you wish to be the strongest of the elites.”

“ _ Tch!  _ You win this round, but only because I let you…”

The members of the Student Council, were honestly a lot of fun to be around. She didn’t have any real way to compare… but it felt as though this is what having a friend group would be like. A group of diverse, yet like-minded people that enjoyed each other, no matter how much they’d playfully rag on another.

She knew that once school had started, it’d likely be a lot less of this… but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable to hang around the small group.

Although, she was most thankful for having Nonon give her an apology, and having formed at the very least an understanding, and form of respect for the girl. If she had to be realistic, it was likely solely because of Satsuki putting her in her place, but she could at least hope that Nonon would turn around soon, and see her as an actual friend.

Leaning back in her chair, she let herself stare into space a bit. 

This was going to be a massive shift in her life, for sure. She was most definitely ready for it, but this also meant that everything would truly begin to get put into motion. The planning and preparation phase of their war against the fibers was officially over- all they had left to do was give one final check, produce a couple of uniforms, and everything would truly start.

The war for the world had only just begun… and this was most definitely going to be the hardest challenge she’d likely ever face. 

She absentmindedly ran a hand through her hair, trying to use the tingling sensation of her locks to ground her properly. They realistically had about a year to pull this off, and that was if they managed to make a good schedule. They had to condition their students, annihilate a private militia of nudists, and deal with the repercussions of the events… at the Matoi Manor.

_ Ryuko… _

“Excuse me, am I coming through clearly?”

The room turned in unison to the large screen on the back wall, seeing the unmistakable brilliant and wavy blonde hair of Shirou Iori. 

“You are indeed, Iori.” Satsuki confirmed, before going back to take another sip of a now-refilled cup of tea.

“Perfect. The Sewing Club’s  _ Goku Uniform  _ mass production apparatus’ are online, and ready to sew.”

“Thank you, Shirou.” Sumi smiled. “We’ll make our way down shortly- do hold off for a couple of minutes, alright?”

“Will do, Lady Sumi. We’ll be seeing you soon.”

And just as quickly as he had arrived- he vanished. The screen returned to the idle dark-green, with the Honnōji Academy logo proudly displayed in the center.

“Hell yeah, finally!!” Sanageyama quickly rose up, charging immediately for the door. “Time to see some action!!” He exclaimed as he burst through it, followed by loud, echoing footsteps.

“...He realized that there’s an elevator here, right?” Nonon chided, hands on her hips in disapproval.

“He’ll learn his mistake when he runs down 80 flights of stairs… not the best punishment, but a due one.” Gamagōri shook his head.

* * *

As their elevation rapidly decreased, the digital counter above the doorway began to tick lower and lower, until eventually going below zero, to the basement levels.

The school was absolutely massive, and housed 10 floors in total, 7 above ground and 3 below, and their destination was at the second bottom most floor.

Multitudes of meters underground, the Sewing Club room was created to be the most impervious part of the building, unable to be entered by any unsuspecting No-Star student and even then requiring keycard access, meaning either getting clearance, or one of the Council’s student I.D.‘s.

When the elevator grounded to a halt at their destination, and the doors opened, they were immediately hit by a swath of hot air and a forray machinery noises.

“Ah, welcome, elites and Ladies alike!” Inumuta bowed dramatically. “To the fully operational, top-spec. Sewing Club room!”

Twirling around on the spot, he pointed dynamically to the rows upon rows of workbenches in front of the group. “Each station comes fully equipped with custom-designed, high end sewing machines, clothing shears, pins, needles, thread of all types- the whole nine yards!”

Quickly dashing from down the hall, Shirou slid on the balls of his feet, pausing dramatically right next to the still posing Inumuta. “With a maximum of 100 total seats, access to all types of fabrics- let alone the Life Fibers- and a fully operational  _ Goku Uniform  _ mass-producer, we can test, fine tune, craft, design-  _ become god  _ over all forms of Life-Fiber infused clothing!!”

Dancing around each other, the two quickly pointed both hands to the sky, arms raised to the heavens above, and began to shout in unison: “Honnōji Academy’s Sewing Club Headquarters, is now fully operational!!”

Their dazzling speech echoed throughout the massive room, as the two stayed stuck in time, awaiting an eager reaction.

“...Did you say “fully operational” twice?” Nonon deadpanned, completely unperturbed along with the rest of the group.

A door was slammed open, as Sanageyama hobbled into the room with staggered breath, inching towards the group slowly. “H-Holy  _ shit _ , that was a lot of stairs… what’d I miss?”

“Welcome, elites and Ladies alike, to-“ Inumuta attempted to start again, before getting promptly bonked on the head by a thrown stuffed bear.

“Oh no, we’re not doing that again!!” Nonon shouted, continuously stamping her foot down. “Can we get on to printing the first batch of the uniforms now?!”

“Yes, right away!!” Shirou quickly shouted, before dashing down back where he came before he himself was hit by an onslaught of plush warriors.

“...If it makes you feel any better, Inumuta, I liked it.” Sumi chuckled, unable to hold in the hilarity of it all. “Although, you certainly need to work a bit more on your script writing… but If I may, can we  _ please _ move on to what we came here for?”

Inumuta quickly straightened up his posture, and bowed. “Yes, my apologies, Lady Sumi… and also apologies to you, Lady Satsuki.”

“Your enthusiasm is understandable, but this is an important matter, so may we please get to it?” She chided, with an unimpressed frown.

“Of course... now if you would all kindly follow me…”

As he continued to guide the group down the surprisingly lengthy production facility, he kept pointing out little nuances of the machinery. It was mostly unnecessary, but it was still interesting to listen in to how they work out the problem of sewing in only a specific percentage of Life Fiber, while conforming to the mass production design.

_ Goku Uniforms  _ as a concept went through very rigorous bouts of testing, fine-tuning, and design reworks, until it eventually landed upon the current design- the 1 Star Uniform.

The 1-Star Uniform was the base-line, giving the wearer heightened performance, greater durability, and could even  _ slim  _ a person into a more maneuverable shape, should they actually need it.

The 1-Star was by all accounts a corset, one that could give extraordinary power to its wearer in the blink of an eye… But, they had also figured out that each person had a different “adaptability” to a uniform.

For the most part, anybody could wear a 1-Star, and be able to utilize it to its fullest, but some people were just born different, and could draw even  _ greater  _ power from a uniform. This was then the catalyst for the creation of the next model; the 2-Star Uniform.

With the 2-Star, the person wearing it required resistance, as well as a body that could handle it’s awesome power output. With 20% fiber sewn in, it greatly exceeded the power that could be emitted from a 1-Star, more than just a flat 10% increase. The power of a 2-Star was too much for a normal person to handle, and would require one truly worthy of it.

In comparison to people who could handle a 1-Star, those who could handle a 2-Star required much more fortitude of their mental state, being able to effectively resist the primal temptations of the fibers. This meant that no ordinary student could just wear a 2-Star; they had to be  _ deserving of wearing  _ the 2-Star.

The person had to be able to wear their clothes, and not let their clothes wear them.

“...Now, as you can see  _ here _ ,” Inumuta pointed towards a small terminal screen. “This is the facilities… effectively a searching system. For custom designed 2-Star uniforms, the specs, augmentations, and aspects of the body of who would be wearing it, can all be found here…”

2-Star Uniforms were subsequently delegated to the “Club-President” role. They were unfit for being just a uniform anybody could wear, so they were turned into specially crafted uniforms that could be augmented to fit the persons specifications, dimensions- it would fit the person who would be wearing them perfectly.

As Satsuki and Sumi scouted out their perfect team, afterwards they decided on looking out for those who would be fitting of a smaller role… the role of Club President.

The Elite 4 couldn’t train every student in the school, so they had decided to have others help do it.

Many Club Presidents were picked out before-hand by some of the elites, but they still had plenty of room to have many more, should they ever need it. But, with so many, what would happen if an attempt at a mutiny happened?

That is why they had developed the last of the line of  _ Goku Uniforms _ … 3-Star.

3-Star uniforms are in small abundance, only a handful is needed so only a handful were made. They were only created for 5 people total, the most worthy of all.

The Elites: Nonon Jakuzure, Uzu Sanageyama, Ira Gamagōri, and Hōka Inumuta. They were the only ones with mental fortitude great enough to easily wear a 3-Star, and were undoubtedly the most worthy of it. And lastly, was the Sewing Club President himself: Shirou Iori. Despite not being the one to fight, he was actually the  _ most  _ capable of the uniforms, being able to wear it without any problem.

And so, there was now reason to call the Elites the Elites. They were not only on a different level in terms of experience and prowess, but also in  _ power _ .

“...We can realistically see that the required 5000 1-Star uniforms may be printed within the following days… most definitely within 3. I would love to give you a fully accurate estimate, but that is simply not possible.”

“It’s understandable, this is the first time we’ve done something like this.” Satsuki nodded gratefully. “How about the status of the Club uniforms?”

“If I may interject, Lady Satsuki…” Shirou bowed. “2-Star uniforms are impossible to manufacture, so I am seeing to it myself that me and my team would be the ones to create them- the same goes for our 3-Stars.”

Moving his hand to a nearby keyboard, he clacked away quickly, until another screen of the terminal they were standing around was brought to life. “Due to the personalization of the uniforms in question, we’re required to conform to a very specific body type, and specs. Our manufacturing machine simply cannot print these designs.”

“I fully understand, Shirou, but that’s why we agreed to form the Sewing Club, is it not?” Satsuki turned her gaze to the blonde, a slight smile on her face.

“A-Ah, I should’ve realized you already thought of that… my apologies…” The man bowed again. “Realistically, all special uniforms should be ready by Sunday. My team is coming tomorrow and will be at the ready.”

“Perfect. Thank you, Inumuta, Iori.” She nodded to the two of them, who bowed back. “Can we see to it that the manufacturing of the 1-Star uniforms can begin now?”

“At once, Lady Satsuki.” The two men responded immediately, before turning around to quickly clack on keys- all of the terminals monitors quickly coming to life.

Machines thrummed, steam began to emit from below the massive pits at their sides around them, and after a few moments small, vagrant strands of Life Fiber started to fly throughout the room.

Everything was slowly being put into place… closer and closer they drew to the beginning of everything.

The fight for the world… was almost here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nonon gets better I promise please don't hunt me down


	4. If Only I Had Thorns Like A Thistle: Act 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Start of a new school year...

Every day, for the past half-decade, Sumi had woken up in a swathe of comforting warmth… one that she always knew would be around her.

“Good morning, Sumi… I can see you slept well?” Satsuki chuckled, curling her mint locks and putting a kiss right into them.

“G’Morning…” The mint-ette yawned back, snuggling closer into her girlfriend and the sheets. 

Most nights, she was given the position of “little spoon,” and she couldn’t be more happy with that. They’ve of course experimented with different sleeping styles- various forms of cuddling if anything- but more often than not, she was “little spoon.”

Every night… Satsuki covered her wounded back… her unfading reminders of pain… protected her from it...

“The day has finally come, Sumi… The first day of school.”

“Yeah…” She yawns again, slowly raising a hand to her eyes to rub out vagrant bits of sleep. “I just hope we’re ready… I know I can lead, just a bit daunting still…”

“We’re more than ready, there’s nothing we need to worry about.” Satsuki calmly reassured the mint-ette, continuing to curl small strands of minty locks.

“I know… it’s just sort of… I get this feeling that something’s going to happen… y’know?”

“...I’ve been getting that feeling as well…” Satsuki admitted, lowering her head to calmly rest on top of the other girl’s. “But… just know this…”

She slowly reaches down a hand, resting on top of one of Sumi’s, and just as slowly, they interlocked. “We’re together in this fight, Sumi. We’ll face whatever is ahead of us, and we’ll _win_.”

“Yeah…” She smiled, bringing their hands up, turning them over to put a small kiss on their heiress’ hand. “Yeah… we got this. We’ll give them hell.”

Every night… every day… Satsuki was there to comfort them, protect them, _be there_ for them.

But… she still felt a faint, distant sadness…

Ryuko Matoi was still out there… alone.

If there was one thing she wished she could do… was hope she could one day help that girl find someone… someone to be with them throughout everything… someone to be what she couldn’t.

* * *

As the vehicle curved up the now-familiar spiraling road, she continued to look out the window, at the now shrinking buildings of the Slums.

They were bustling with life… a lot more people than there were just a week ago. She could see many vagrant students hop onto tram cars, various wild animals running after each other…

She swears she saw that one of them was wearing a hoodie…

“I hope you’ve polished your blade, Sumi…” 

“Hm?” She perked up, turning to see Satsuki, investigating Bakuzan in her seat. “Yeah, I‘ve been polishing it every other day… I should honestly be doing it every day, but I still have a lot of things to remember.”

“Your dedication is very admirable, but you don’t need to remember every single name and face of every pig.” She looked over, sliding Bakuzan back into its sheath. “The only ones who deserve recognition, are those who work for it.”

“Oh believe me, I know…” Sumi smiled. “But, I still feel like I should… I may only be second to you, but I’m still a leader of the school, so I have to give it nothing but my all… And besides…”

She watched as that same boy from before tried to jump in front of the limousine, only for Soroi to expertly dodge them once again, watching as the child collided with the asphalt, and was likely screaming profanities at their rear.

“I’ll give no more recognition to the pigs other than their name. If they wish for any more ounces of my respect… they should earn it.”

Sumi turned back to Satsuki. “But, everybody deserves their name to be recognized… Just like you recognized mine.”

The heiress took a moment, before smiling back. “My apologies, Ms. Vice President, I seem to have forgotten how attached you get to your pets.”

The mint-ette couldn’t help but snort back, trying to hold in the rest of her laughter. “Yeah, yeah...”

* * *

The first day of school _was_ going by pretty fast without a hitch…

“My Ladies?” Gamagōri’s loud voice cut through the silence of the council room from over their shoulders, drawing the attention of the two leaders- currently partaking in a game of chess.

“What is it, Gamagōri?” Satsuki quickly perked up, yet not taking her attention away from the game at hand.

**Honnōji Academy ‘Starless’**

**Student Council President**

**SATSUKI KIRYŪIN**

“We’ve found the No-Star who managed to steal one of our 1-Star uniforms, I’m seeing fit to apprehend him. Should I proceed?” He asked, his giant visage looking a lot more tame on the wall-covering monitor screen.

“Do so with _caution_ , Gamagōri.” Sumi interjected, smirking as she knocked down a Rook. “Pigs fight dirty, be aware that they could have something on them- a knife, shiv, maybe even a hand-grenade- But, don’t let your guard down, not even for a moment.”

**Honnōji Academy ‘Starless’**

**Student Council Vice-President**

**SUMISORANO HOSHI**

“Of course, Lady Sumi.”

The screen quickly went blank, leaving the two back to their game.

“Don’t let your guard down…” Satsuki hummed, before knocking down what was supposed to be an expertly placed Bishop for a move Satsuki would’ve likely made 5 turns later. “Even for a moment.”

“Crap…!”

* * *

‘ _Honestly… History was the worst possible choice I could’ve ever made to teach…_ ’

Scrawling on the board various names, he got halfway through the word “Chancellor” before the submarine-esqe Metal door sounded with an extremely loud “clang” throughout the classroom.

As the metal squealed, another “clang,” followed by the door finally giving way, as a giant foot broke through the hard iron and sent the crooked piece across the room, and straight into the window-side of the classroom, busting clean through the glass and damaging a metal pillar holding the pane in place, causing the hunks of metal to bounce back into the room, and land straight into the crowd of people, sending books, pigs, and dust everywhere.

Somehow managing to stay clear of all the rubble and frenzy, the teacher turned to the shadowy halls. “Uh… Excuse me, we’re in the middle of a lesson here…”

His giant figure still rising, the dominant Ira Gamagōri leaned clean over the now puny teacher. “I’M HERE ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS!!” He shouted, followed by a quick line-up of 1-Star subordinates of the Disciplinary Chairman, effectively trapping the teacher.

Launching back and landing on the floor to bow, the teacher repeatedly bowed his head up and down. “Y-Yes, sir, my greatest apologies!!”

Leaning his head towards the still scrambling students, trying to put their desks back in order as quickly as possible, he leered over every single person in the room- making sure to give an extra good one to the girl who was somehow still sleeping. “If you hadn’t known already… My name is IRA GAMAGŌRI, THIS ACADEMY’S _DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE_ CHAIRMAN!!”

**Honnōji Academy 3-Star**

**Student Council Disciplinary Committee Chairman**

**IRA GAMAGŌRI**

Marching across the classroom, intending to keep his glare on every student, his metal boots crunched against the concrete flooring. “Students of Second Year Class K... I’ve heard that one No-Star student had managed to sneak into our laundry room… and stolen one of _my_ student’s 1-Star uniforms…”

He looked directly at the suspect in question for a few moments. “This someone very likely intends to harm our Honnōji Academy… and is among one of you all!!”

The student in suspect began to nervously sweat, immediately drawing him out of the crowd. Noticing such, Gamagōri began to march the opposite way. “Any and all reasoning, or explanation, will be ignored. This person will be punished immediately, and without mercy!!”

Instantly rising out of his desk, launching it forward and his chair backwards, a chubby, short student stared right into Gamagōri’s eyes, as he held up a green canister- a smoke grenade. Slowly he raised his hand, watching as every other student was slowly overtaken by fear, and he chucked it directly onto the ground- bursting the can in its entirety and shooting out a massive cloud of dark smoke.

Rushing out of the smoke filled classroom and hall, and attempting to run as fast as he could down the concrete stairs, he held the uniform in its golden embroidered parcel as he skipped as many steps as he could, nearly tripping multiple times as he did.

Trying to look back to see if he was followed, he was unable to see the laughing, gigantic figure of Ira Gamagōri through the stairwell’s windows, who had jumped out of the window he had just previously broken.

Seeing the emergency door, he smirked as he practically pried the rotating valve off, and nearly had a stroke upon seeing the blonde disciplinary chairman standing right at the other side, arms behind his back and a more disappointed look on his face.

Leaning forward, he glared right down at the cowering student, his disappointment growing into rage. “Did you seriously think…” He gripped the student’s uniform collar, and raised him up. “That such cheap smoke…” He swung him around, using the spikes on the soles of his feet to plant himself firmly. “Would HELP YOU ESCAPE FROM ME?!”

With a mighty swing, he threw the student clear into the air, gathering up the dust from the dirt below his feet, and watching as the student screamed, before they were muffled by him spinning and twisting against the dirt, his hair and uniform becoming more and more ragged as they continued like a top across the rock, before he managed to land on his back with a hard skid.

“Sh-Shit!!” The student growled as he hobbled his way up, glaring hard at the chairman- who had already caught up to him, and was looming over him once again, face entirely shadowed and men behind him, forming a tight-knit circle around the two.

He tore at the parcel, and out came the uniform, now sullied by the pig’s hands.

“Oh-hoh…” Gamagōri chuckled. “So, it really _was_ you who stole the One-Star uniform…”

**ONE-STAR GOKU UNIFORM** **: 10% Life Fiber Body-Enhancing Uniform**

“What’s the matter?” The blonde chairman chuckled. “Try it on!!”

Seeing the opportunity arise, he immediately tore off his ragged, scraped uniform, in favor of dawning the Life Fiber cowl. It didn’t fit him, but it slowly began taking its effect regardless.

“H-Holy shit…! M-My body!!” He screamed, feeling the awesome power of the uniform enter his body, sending a feeling of cockiness throughout his brain. “I can feel this thing’s power flowing right through me!!”

He smirked as his uniform began to shine, and entered a confident combat pose, his body now slim and lean- the uniform’s body augmenting properties.

“Tch…”

Gamagōri grasped his spiked metal gauntlets, pulling out the handle of a barbed whip that was stored within, immediately beginning to slash and swipe at the 1-Starred pig, who was easily dodging each and every attack.

“M-My body… it’s moving faster than fast!!”

Feeling his own blood pumping, Gamagōri began to chuckle once more. “Of course; that’s the power of the _Goku Uniform-_ to enhance the power of one’s own body!!”

Slapping at the side of the whip, the cocky pig immediately began to dash forward- utilizing the chance to strike. “All right then, how about you eat this!!” He shouted, fist reeled back as he shot through the air directly at the wall of a man in front of him.

Fist landing square in his abs- the student immediately realized how much of a stupid, and foolish of an idea this well and truly was.

“ _My_ uniform, however… is a _3-Star_ …” He smirked, watching as the pig’s face fell.

His figure grew, looming over the now cowering student, higher and higher, more fearsome and gruesome. “AN ATTACK FROM A MERE ONE-STAR…

“ **WON’T DO A THING TO ME!!!** ”

His other whip quickly shot out from the other gauntlet, and he gripped it tight, catching the pig off guard. He used the surprise and fear to his advantage, and began quickly slapping and striking at the student with his barbed, maroon weapons, before slamming him hard to the ground with the bottom of his enclosed hands.

Twirling the whip around the bruised body, he quickly spun around, and launched him- still tied to the whip- directly into the concrete side wall of the school, which his body immediately hit with a loud and resounding slam and crunch. “WHAT WERE YOU PLANNING, SNEAKING OUT WITH A GOKU UNIFORM?!”

Whipping his massive arms to his other side, the body quickly jutted out of the stone crater and slammed directly into the opposing wall.

“You must be some trash Kobe spy- sneaking into our academy!!”

He quickly whipped his arms again, sending the body out of the other wall, and directly back into the dirt below with an even harder explosion of dust.

“The uniform has power… but it’s unfortunately wasted by the likes of you!!”

He jerked and swiped his hands back and forth, launching the body at multiple angles and letting him quickly slam, be brought back up, and slammed again into the dirt, massive puffs of smoke shooting up left and right from each successful slam of the body-to-ground.

Watching overhead, twin bodies encompassed in shadow stood on the very edge of the roof, the highest point in the academy.

Seeing fit to finally end the pig’s suffering, the blonde chairman gave one last, mighty roar, as he spun them around one last time, before watching his bloody and bruised body fly, as he tossed him straight into the top of the gigantic entrance arch.

Reeling back, the whips quickly began retracting back into the gauntlets of his uniform, parting the clouds of dust in their wake.

The beaten, incapacitated pig gasped for air as he was wedged in the concrete crater, unable to see the chairman’s whip that was still wrapped around his whole body retract. “You aren’t cut out for that Goku Uniform.” Gamagōri finished, before whipping his arms back. “ **TAKE IT OFF!!!** ”

As the shout echoed throughout the air, the pig began to twirl as his whip began to unfurl around him, screams reverberating as he spun faster and faster- until his uniform was cleanly yanked off his body completely, revealing his chubby complexion once more, and causing the crater he rested in the grow bigger, as another impact rattled his body, vagrant bits of concrete exploding out and onto the ground below.

Watching intently as the uniform slowly made its way across the massive distance between him and the pig, he caught it expertly as the whip finally retracted back to its resting place, and the uniform to his hand. Scoffing at the horribly botched attempt at stealing the uniform, he folded it up neatly, and patted off the dust- handing it nicely to his expecting 1-Star underling.

Seizing his next opportunity with gusto, the chairman cleared his throat.

“LISTEN UP, STUDENTS OF HONNŌJI ACADEMY!!”

His booming voice echoed, piercing right through the air, as all the confused and expecting students looked out onto the schoolyard, directly at the giant man in the very center.

“AS LONG AS IRA GAMAGŌRI DRAWS BREATH, THIS ACADEMY’S RULES WILL STAND FOREVER FIRM!!”

As blinding lights of gold brilliance; yellow and rose alike, shown down upon the school, Gamagōri turned himself around, and saluted directly to them.

“THE IRONCLAD RULES CREATED BY OUR STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENTS: **SATSUKI KIRYŪIN AND SUMISORANO HOSHI!!!** ”

Leering down, the massive lights of yellow and rose encompassed the entirety of the academy- nay, the city. And at the center of it all, was Honnōji’s leaders.

Stamping his foot down, Gamagōri screamed loud once again. “ALL SALUTE OUR STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENTS: SATSUKI KIRYŪIN AND SUMISORANO HOSHI!!!”

With echoing clicks of heels, at the academy’s apex, were the figures of Satsuki, and Sumi- side by side, swords poised at the ready and free hands intertwined together low. At their backs, the remaining 3 of the council stood watch, smiling to all who could see them.

“ _Fear is Freedom!!_ ” Satsuki bellowed to the masses below.

“ _Subjugation is Liberation!!_ ” Sumi followed.

“ _Contradiction is truth! These are the Truths of this world!!_ ” They shouted in unison, their voices booming for any and all to hear, echoing down the very island they stood above. “ _To those truths you shall surrender_ ,” Sumi began, as Satsuki finished; “ _You_ pigs _in human clothing!_ ”

With one last flash of blinding light, all below saluted to their leaders… the all imposing Student Council.

* * *

**The Next Day**

“So… This is the place, huh?”

**Honnōji Academy No-Star**

**Transfer Student, Class K**

**RYUKO MATOI**

“Honnōji Academy…”

**KILL la KILL: Kintsukuroi**

****

  
  


Stood at the farthest point of the city, the long, foggy bridge that was an entrance, was a girl with a black and white varsity jacket, carrying with her a large guitar case over her shoulder.

Firm grip held on a ragged piece of postage, she stared down at those words she wished she had read 6 years ago.

“...We are seeing fit to transfer you to an up-in-coming, high class academy- the soon to be built “Honnōji Academy...””

For 6, long, arduous years, she spent hopping from school to school as a vagrant, and notorious delinquent, joined gangs for inside intel, skipped every town she could…

All it took for her to finally get her answer was to bust into that old, tiny room, and check under her bed, taped to the top of the frame.

That torn, worn down, tear-stained piece of paper that she could hardly ever stare at since she left. She honestly felt like an idiot- the answer was right in front of her, yet she never bothered to look.

She was afraid to look, mostly.

But… now she was truly on her own. She was going to find the girl she loved… and try and find her Dad’s killer along the way.

6 years and 6 months… all of that wait… and now she stood before the massive amalgam of concrete, wood, and steel; the massive kingdom that was Honnōji Academy.

“I’m coming… Sumi.”

Taking her first steps into her future, she kept a tight grip on her case strap, letting the wind ruffle her dark curls and skirt, her white shoes squeaking on the precipitated concrete, and her sapphire gaze ahead.

“Just wait a bit longer…”

* * *

“Lady Sumi?”

Inumuta was once again taking measurements and check-ups of her body, which had become a common practice. She didn’t really mind that much anymore- he was quite literally incapable of any romantic interaction and neither could he get… well… that didn’t need to be elaborated… the point was the guy was as professional as can be, whether he wanted it or not.

“Hm?” She hummed, not realizing that a needle was stuck in her arm, and she quickly turned away.

“You’ve been out of it throughout a majority of the day. It hasn’t hindered your ability to lead, mind you, but it hasn’t gone unnoticed.” He hummed, taking the now filled tiny syringe of blood.

“Today’s just… not that good for me.” She sighed back, resting her head on her outturned palm.

“Care to elaborate? I’ll have you know that I’m not just an expert on technology- I’ve taken extensive psychiatric classes, and have plenty of knowledge on your personality already.” He slowly put the syringe in the machine Sumi couldn’t quite comprehend, all she knew was that it measured stuff and things in her blood.

“I… You know how I’ve really only told you some stuff I only tell Satsuki, right?” She began, eyeing the machine with mild interest.

“Yes, and if I had to hazard a guess… it’s that new transfer student we’re getting today?”

“Yeah…”

“Ryuko Matoi…” He whispered to himself, tapping away at the machine. “Well, just thought you should know first that things are still going well. Medicine’s still good and so are the blockers… Your weight has gone down but not in a bad way, just in a normal way… Oh, and if I may… your synchronicity with the Life Fiber’s has continued to rise slowly.”

It wasn’t exactly uncommon… but, it was common enough to make Sumi absolutely resent that vile woman.

Something she _did_ to her… when she touched her… whatever the hell that “birthright” was she was receiving, it was affecting her, that much was certain.

Nothing could really be done to avoid it or stop it without raising suspicions… she had to take it, or else.

“Now, this is all strictly hypothetical…” He turned back to the seated girl- in nothing more than a sports bra and spats. “But… you could very likely be able to dawn a _Kamui_ at this point.”

She could… wear a Kamui?

“Again, please understand that this is hypothetical, but…” He continued, actually taking off his glasses. “And, please forgive me for talking like this… but whatever _she_ has been doing to you, it’s been coaxing you to be able to better control the fibers- each and every time it happens your synchronicity has risen. We’re able to tell based on subtle changes in your blood… And well, if it continues, you would hypothetically only be able to control the fibers easier if it continues…”

He stroked the bridge of his nose with his fingers, eyes closed and contemplative. “But… I understand that you’d rather not do it. I’m not saying by _any_ means it should continue, but… whatever the hell she’s doing to you is having only _positive_ effects towards our goal.”

That… that made sense…

“I understand what you mean, Inumuta…” She sighed, resting herself back in the examination seat she was currently in. “I… The only thing I’m genuinely afraid of is what _else_ that could mean…”

She raised a hand to her hair, using the tingling sensation once again to ground her. “Like… synchronicity is good… believe me I understand what you’re saying… But that _bitch_ … I don’t know what she’s fully capable of and as far as I know the whole thing she does to me…”

“It could cause unforeseen effects.” Inumuta nodded, raising his hand up to his collar and unzipping it, revealing his mouth. “Believe me when I say, that at the very least now, nothing has happened to you that should be cause for concern. You’re perfectly healthy, strong, and capable… your immune system is a bit lacking, but...”

He reached his hand over to her arm, and gave a comforting squeeze. “You’re all-right, Lady Sumi. _If anything_ bad comes up, I’ll be sure to let you know. But at least for now, everything is going to be- and is- alright.”

Sumi let out a long sigh, and smiled at the cerulean-haired scientist. “Thanks, Inumuta… really, thanks a lot.”

“Of course, Lady Sumi.” He nodded. “Although, back to the original topic of Matoi… what are you worried about exactly, if you don’t mind?”

What _wasn’t_ she worried about?

“Well… the stuff at Matoi Manor for one…” She started, absentmindedly curling her hair. “She’s going to be devastated… and there's the whole thing with the letter for transfer all those years ago…”

“Ah, the transfer letter… does she have it?” He asked, moving into a more comfortable position with his head resting on one of his hands.

“Yeah, she should… she read it, at least… She knows that I’m here, and I can only imagine she’s coming here for me…”

Inumuta nodded. “Most likely, if she’s choosing to go _here_ of all places.”

“And I guess I just… I’m worried about what I’m going to say to her… about… everything that’s changed.” She sighed again, slumping back in her seat a bit.

“Yes, I can only imagine…”

How could she possibly face her? How could she _tell her_ that she’s found someone else?

“I… I’ve found Satsuki. I can’t say I _don’t_ have feelings for Ryuko… Satsuki knows how I feel, but… I can’t. I love Satsuki… and she loves me. I don’t know how I can tell her that.”

“Truly perplexing…” Inumuta nods, closing his eyes. “I can’t say I can sympathize… I can’t exactly feel that kind of attraction.” He chuckled lightly, before opening his cerulean gaze again. “But… what I think you need to do is just… talk to her. Now, it might be weird… but you have 6 years worth of catching up to do. If she loved you, then she’ll hear you out.”

“Okay…” Sumi relented, nodding. “I’ll try.”

Inumuta smiled, before zipping up his collar. “It’s all we can do.”

“Hey… Inumuta?”

“Yes, Lady Sumi?”

“...Have you… gotten any words from the Grand Couturier?”

“Indeed I have… she isn’t coming here any time soon, however… but… it’s been completed. Pretty annoying how it’s taken 4 years to make, but as long as it can work… and if you can wear it.”

As long as it can work…

“At least she finished the thing… but if it doesn’t work, then I guess we still have Satsuki…”

“She should be arriving on her own time at some point to deliver it... Now, if you wouldn’t mind, would you allow me to test you with it?”

Sumi chuckled. “Of course, Inumuta.”

* * *

Strolling through the slums of the massive city was an interesting experience… it was mostly wooden, with some hints of brickwork. It did have a lot of neon signs, trying to one-up the others to bring in as much business as possible in the grim environment. 

There were a lot of animals running around, collars or not, as well as plenty of… interesting people.

Strolling through a small market, she made sure to pick up a lemon. She was getting hungry, and couldn’t find a better choice.

Taking a hard bite out of the acidic fruit, she continued to walk throughout the slums, passing by plenty of eager gazes and prying eyes, mostly towards her, but also towards the case on her back.

‘ _Such a shitty place…_ ’ she thought to herself, swinging around a metal pole and beginning to climb up the concrete steps. ‘ _Seriously… I hope Sumi isn’t with all of these… people._ ’

As she continued to climb, she saw anarchists, gangs, ‘workers’ and more… it was all so depressing and grim, it didn’t really seem real. It didn’t help that the entire place was enveloped in a white smog.

Making her way to a roundabout, a small kid with his hair tied back, eyes covered with sunglasses, made a quick run right into her- and around her. “Whoops, sorry- my bad!!” He shouted as he raised his hands up with a smirk, running down the steps and launching off the side- sounding like he landed on a garbage bag.

‘ _Honestly… what a shitty pick-pocket…_ ’ 

“Piece of cake!” He chuckled to himself, taking his spoils from out of his shirt- only to realize what he grasped was a half-eaten, whole lemon.

“W-What?! I could’ve sworn I got her wallet!!”

Landing right overhead, on top of a small wooden shed he was ducked behind, she chuckled as she easily grabbed at her lemon, snatching it from his loose grip. “Honestly… you’re quite the precocious kid, stealing a lemon from a girl who just started eating it.”

Smirking defiantly at the boy, who quickly recoiled away, she took another bite. “You’re that eager to learn what first love tastes like or somethin’?”

Giving a loud scoff, the boy readied his fists as the girl hopped down in front of him, her singular red bang shining in the few lights that could reach the alley. “You bitch, don’t try and be all witty!! I’ve had my first kiss!!”

Hands in her pockets, she just laughed. “Then there truly is no such thing as ‘regret’ in this world anymore!”

Trying to put back on a brave face, the young boy put both hands to his mouth to let out a loud whistle. “That’s my line, sister. Come on out, guys, let’s give 'em hell!!”

Out of the blue, three more kids approached- each wearing some combination of clothes to make them look intimidating. One held a bandaged up metal pipe, another a guerilla chain-scythe, and the last one a barely working chainsaw. 

“You’ve insulted the great Lightning-Speed Mataro, in his own turf, no less!!” He laughed loudly, trying to sound as intimidating as the pre-pubescent boy could. “This neighborhood is my turf; the Honnō Town Blind Alley!!”

At this point, many of the people around them began to slowly reach out of their wooden homes, watching with mild interest at the scuffle. “It’s a dead-end for lives, and a feared hangout for drifters… if you want to get home in one piece… leave your wallet and go!”

Unphased, Ryuko’s smirk got even more devilish. “Honestly… come on, what’s with the anachronistic street punk routine?” She began, looking around at the small mob of young children with weapons they couldn’t properly handle. “I thought this town was strange… but I can see the people who live here are nuts, too.”

Laughing lightly, she continued to stare down each murderous face. “All right, it’s my policy to see it through whenever someone picks a fight.”

“Come at me.”

“All right, _get her!!_ ”

As the kids jumped, she made quick work of each one- giving a hard and quick slap to each with her metal case, watching as they all slumped down to the dirt with barely any fight.

Turning her gaze towards their leader, she reached around, and clutched the case.

“Eh…”

Each boy jumping back, bowing in front of the vandal, they each groveled low, and shouted in unison “We’re sorry!!”

“H-Hey, what the hell?” The raven-haired girl gasped, as their leader- apparently a kid named Mataro, got on one knee and arms in front, begging for forgiveness. 

“We’re really weak against stronger people, that’s kind of our strong-suit…”

“Well, no reason to continue.” Ryuko managed to smile, raising her case back up properly to her shoulder. “I can’t fight a bunch of people who’re groveling and scraping at my feet.”

She gave a light wave. “I’ll let it slide, just this once.” And she made her leave.

The group of boys watched her go, and let out a collective sigh-

Until Mataro was smacked upside the head by a flying school bag.

Being knocked clean off his feet, launching into the air at the strike and flying straight past Ryuko onto the walkway in front of her, quick footwork followed, and then a jumping lunge with arms crossed, by what looked to be a schoolgirl with light brown hair.

“Hey!!”

Slamming directly into the young boy, they spun on the ground, until the girl managed to claim victory, and held the boy down, holding his arm back with both hands and legs tied around him in a tight lock. “Out shaking people down at the crack of dawn again?!”

“Sh-Shit, it’s my big sister!!”

Easily twirling his body around her, he held the boy by his legs upside down, his arms splayed outwards and held in place by her elbows. “You can’t get away, so don’t even try it!!” She shouted at him, handling his body with no remorse. “How many times do I have to tell you: stop mugging people and get your butt to school?!”

Swinging the boy’s body around again, he was pressed against the dirt as her back pinned him down, handling his leg by folding it entirely back, kept firmly in place again by her shoulder. 

Patting the ground repeatedly to get released, he started to tear up. “I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! I’m going, I'm going!!!”

Accepting their response, she quickly let him go, tossing him onto the dirt with a scoff.

“Hah, dumbass!!” He shouted back, getting back on his feet immediately, and running off with his other cronies in tow down the road. “I ain’t got time for no compulsory education, no way, bitch!!”

“Honestly, what a jerk…” The girl sighed, before turning to Ryuko. “Oh, I’m sorry! Are you-”

A loud, reverberated school bell shook the town, signifying the start of class. How it managed to ring all the way down the school, Ryuko had no clue.

Jumping up in fear, the girl quickly picked her school bag back up. “Oh no, I’m late, I’m _laaaate!!!_ ”

Jumping clean over multiple fences, she tried to catch onto a moving orange tram- an extremely packed one, but the looks of it. “Let me on, oh _please_ let me on!!” She shouted, continuing to run the pace of the tram, but slowly but surely it gained speed.

Eventually, she managed to hold on tight to a rail, and screamed “Oh, I’m on- I got on!!”

And as soon as they had arrived- they were gone, as fast as the wind.

‘What’s the deal… with the people in this city…?’

* * *

**Honnōji Academy**

**ENTRANCE**

Hung directly under the massive red gates, was a naked, chubby boy. He was almost hung like a martyr, held in place by what looked to be barbed wire, his entire body scratched and covered in scabs. 

“”This is a naked pig who dared to defy Honnōji Academy…”” She read aloud, the text written on a plank of wood in bold kanji. “”As such, justice was dealt...” eh?”

Well… if that wasn’t getting her blood pumping, she wasn’t sure what could.

“This city’s dangerous, shady as hell too… but this school is just as bad too, huh?”

She stared defiantly at the concrete jungle of a school, the sun eclipsed by the giant tower at it’s very apex.

“Interesting.”

Beginning to walk forward, she made sure to keep her gaze low as she walked underneath the hanging boy. “Something’s getting my blood pumping in a good way… and something else is telling me… I might just find some leads here too.”

This mission turned from rescue, to reconnaissance. If she could find information about who killed her dad, and find Sumi... 

This might’ve all very well been worth it.

* * *

Scribbling on the chalkboard, the blue-haired man started to draw in his monotone voice. “This here, class… is Ryuko Matoi, who transferred into Second Year Class K today…” he began, writing in nice bold hiragana for the class to see. 

“Oh, Ryuko-chan, Ryuko-chan!!” 

The same girl from before was eagerly waving her down, catching her attention easily with her playful tone. “Over here, over here!! This desk is free!” She made a point, repeatedly.

Turning his head slightly, he chuckled to the transfer student. “You know each other?”

“Suzuki-san used to sit here, but he was killed by the student council yesterday- so it’s open now!”

Ryuko sighed. “I wouldn’t say that we’re acquaintances exactly…” She rubbed the back of her head with her hand, giving a mostly confused look to the teacher.

“I can’t believe you’re gonna be my desk neighbor! Want it? Don’t want it? Want it? Don’t want it?”

“Well, that’s how Mankanshoku is.” He smiled, chuckling softly once more. “There ain’t any other available seats, so that’s yours.”

Making her way to the seat, hoisting the case around herself and resting against the side of the desk, the animated girl quickly gave her a friendly smile. “I’m Mako, Mako Mankanshoku!!”

**Honnōji Academy No-Star**

**Second Year, Class K**

**MAKO MANKANSHOKU**

Completely oblivious to the sighs and groans from around the room, Mako continued to smile happily at the less-than-enthusiastic Ryuko. “Well, I’ll be! You’re a transfer student, huh?” She began, tapping her arms against the desk quickly. “Nice to meet ya!”

Sighing, Ryuko moved to point her thumb out the window. “That boy you said was killed by the student council… was that him out front?”

Raising her finger up quickly, as if a lightbulb had been lit, she looked to the sky. “Right, right! That kind of thing happens regularly, so don’t worry about a thing!!” She waved off without a second thought.

“All right, let’s get to today’s lesson…” The teacher sighed, causing Mako to immediately finish her conversation, and pulling out a notebook to hide a small bento she just as quickly pulled out of her school bag.

Scarfing down the meal with blinding speed, Ryuko looked ahead with mild interest at the writing on the board, until her gaze slowly shifted to the girl on her right, quickly finishing her food, and immediately falling right to sleep.

“ _She’s already asleep…?!_ ”

Class at that point at least mellowed down pretty quickly. It was the most boring history she’s ever heard, though… talking about World War 2 and the Nazi’s. She’s never really been one to care for school… at least until a certain book-nerd taught her how to make some fun out of it.

‘ _I know it’s a bit boring, but you can always make your own fun out of things._ ’ A young Sumi told her in her head, smiling kindly at her. ‘ _Learning math is boring but… it’s always so fun when you get it right!! You just gotta work at it, and take each correct problem as a small victory, and those’ll stack up high!!_ ’

Every small victory she got, piled and piled into a massive mountain of it. And with that mountain, came confidence. And with that confidence… came heart.

She hadn’t really known how worse off she was by just herself until Sumi had entered her life on a whim. She was mostly alone, had a gruff and spiteful git of a dad, and for the most part she just… didn’t care, because nobody else would for her.

Sumi was… the first person to really care. She had to make sure she cared for her too.

Going from school to school, trying to find where the girl had gone… only to remember that small room and that letter.

She had taped it under her bed, hoping it would never be found, because at the time she thought she could always go back- she just couldn’t risk taking that with her.

As it turns out, the Matron wasn’t as kind as she thought she was.

So, when she turned 17… she broke back into that small little ‘apartment,’ and checked under that bed.

Sure enough, it was there, and sure enough, she found all she needed to know- all she wished she had read sooner.

“Alright class…” The teacher finished, slapping the chalk down on the broken still. “That’s all for today… please do remember to read chapter 103 of your textbooks for any more information, and to study up for this week's test…”

Following that, an absurdly loud siren blared, cutting through the air like a hot knife through butter. Slightly cringing at the noise, she picked up her case, and sighed, seeing that Mankanshoku was still somehow asleep.

It wasn’t like she had to wait for the girl or anything, so she left the classroom.

She’d barely gone down the hall before that same girl was launching towards her at high speeds.

“RYUUUUKO-CHAAAAAN~!!!”

Sidestepping out of the way with ease, Mako immediately landed on the floor, and broke out into a tumble, until she was launched in the air after coming into contact with a pair of trash cans.

‘ _She’s_ … _certainly interesting…_ ’

* * *

“Ryuko, why’d you dodge me like that?!” Mankanshoku pouted, having not noticed the banana peel on her head. 

The two were walking throughout the massive center grounds of the school- it splitting off outdoors and branching out into various parts of the massive concrete monolith of a building.

“It’s normal to dodge something that comes flying out of nowhere, isn’t it?” Ryuko responded, arms in her pockets as the two continued to walk through the haze that was still on the ground- supposedly the entire town other than inside the buildings was covered with it.

“Huh?!” Mako pouted, putting her arms behind her back as she playfully chided. “I was just giving my bestie a hug!!”

“”Bestie?””

It was a certainly strange building, massive red piping going left and right from various points, massive stone outcroppings for windows, huge chains coiling around various pillars in the courtyard, all coming out from a massive, low, circular center building.

“We’re desk neighbors, so let’s try and get along, okay?” Mankanshoku smiled wide, dropping the previous act. “Ohh, by the way, what’s with that case?” She pointed, directly to the guitar case on her back- covered with various stickers of previously visited locations. “Do you play guitar? Play it!! Come on, play- I’ll sing!!”

Dropping her school bag, only to quickly hobble on top of it, she grasped the banana peel on her head, and used it as a makeshift microphone. “I sing a song of skipping town… I sing a song of going to ground…”

Rubbing her neck in embarrassment, as a few groups of students turned to see the commotion, Ryuko scratched her neck as Mankanshoku made no signs of continuing. “Calm down… I wanna ask you something.”

Taking her silence as confirmation to continue, she sighed. “Who’s the top dog at this school?”

“Oh, who’s the top dog? Actually, there’s two-”

Quickly wrapping her arm around the other girl’s shoulders, she moved them quickly down, forcing her to bow along with her. “Watch out, Ryuko! Bow, _bow_!!”

“Wh-What is it?!”

The sound of distant footsteps, much harder and heavier than any normal person, sounded throughout the courtyard, causing the populous of the school to immediately line up and bow.

Walking down a long row of concrete steps, was a giant man, darker skin and blonde hair- his build was like a temple, and his massive, spiked gauntlets showed superiority.

His chest was adorned with a massive set of 3 stars- the middle of which being much bigger than the other two, and his shoulders were coated with spiked pauldrons.

Crouching down low, Ryuko looked at the man with mild disinterest. “Is he a big-shot or something?” She asked her light-brown haired companion, who was still bowed as low as possible, and eyeing her friend with curiosity.

“Yeah, one of the biggest!” She responded, pointing directly to him. “He’s a 3-Star!”

Walking right past the two, he continued down the smoky path, his body resounding with clanks of metal on metal. “Three-Star?” Ryuko asked, watching him go.

“Yeah, 3-Star. That’s the school’s Disciplinary Committee Chairman. His name’s Ira Gamagōri.” Mankanshoku began to explain, using her fingers to count the stars. “He’s one of the school’s four elites, and compared to us No-Star commoner students, he’s a super elite who’s three whole ranks above us!!”

“No-Star?” Ryuko asked, now beginning to take note of the intricately designed uniforms, some with stars, some without.

“Right, our school’s got uniforms that have amazing powers, and it’s super incredible when you wear one!!”

She pointed at her own uniform, one that lacked a star. “They give superhuman power, and are called _Goku Uniforms_. They only go from ‘1,’ to ‘2,’ and ‘3’ stars. And only the student council presidents, Satsuki Kiryūin and Sumisorano Hoshi can bestow upon a student a Goku Uniform, based on the student’s abilities.”

Capping up her explanation with a nod, she looked to her red-streaked friend. “Long story short: they’re awesome! Got all that?”

“Wait…”

Sumisorano Hoshi... Sumi’s the top of the food chain here?!

“Oh, speak of the devil- that’s Satsuki-sama and Sumisorano-sama!!”

In a blinding set of twin lights, golden and rose, from where Gamagōri previously walked- now came down two figures. Both obviously women, one slightly taller than the other.

A sword held in their hands, uniforms that matched, long black hair rained down with the tallest girl, and shoulder-length, bobbing, minty curls on the other- golden, circle rimmed glasses adorning their face.

**Honnōji Academy ‘Queen Bee’s’**

**Student Council President / Student Council Vice-President**

**SATSUKI KIRYŪIN / SUMISORANO ‘SUMI’ HOSHI**

“No fuckin’ way…” She gasped under her breath, staring directly at her old friend.

“Ryuko, what’re you-”

Dashing directly into the middle of their paths, she quickly spoke up.

“So, I hear you’re both the queen bee’s of this little school...” She began, eyeing them both down, Sumi more than the other. “If so… then I got a question for the both of you.”

They both stopped immediately, staring down at her, the minty-haired girl noticeably freezing in place.

“Hey, you bitch! How dare you?!” One student shouted, before a small mob broke out and immediately started to dog pile the red-streaked girl, who easily knocked every one of them away, their bodies flopping onto the dirt.

She grasped hard the locks on her case, and outward jutted a crimson red blade.

Shoving her arm in the blade’s handle, she spun it around her body with a flourish, causing everybody around her to disperse, and sending a shining red light throughout the courtyard, stopping it by having the blade’s end pointing directly at the twin presidents.

“A huge…-”

“-...scissors?-”

“-Half a scissors?!”

Both of the president’s perked up at the sight of the blade- Sumi having quickly changed from shocked, to surprised.

As everybody stared in awe, Ryuko could feel her anger flare.

“Ohh, it’s a huge scissor!!” Mako shouted with awe at the crimson blade, watching with extreme interest.

“That’s right… this is half of a giant pair of scissors... and I’m looking for the owner of the other half.”

She glared down both girls, unable to control her rage- even towards the one person she promised never to be angry at. “Hey… I noticed that you both were shocked to see this just now...” They started, feeling the wind beginning to pick up, blowing at their hair.

“You’ve seen my _Scissor Blade?!_ ”

**SCISSOR BLADE** **: Life Fiber Destruction Weapon**

Feeling the girl’s animosity, Sumi’s expression slowly turned from shocked, to her own form of anger.

“So, what if I had?” Satsuki asked with a raised brow, directly at the girl in front of her, not caring at all about the weapon poised at her to strike.

“No way she said that…” Ryuko gasped under her breath. “You’re the bitch with the other half of the Scissor Blade, _aren’t you?!_ ”

Immediately grasping the sword’s chaotic handle with both hands, she began to dash towards both girls in front of her- specifically, the one with the long black hair.

“YOU BITCH!!” Ryuko shouted as she jumped up, twirling the blade until it was held with the edge directly in front of her, it’s crimson sheen shining once more.

The sword was about to strike true, until the girl to her side quickly unsheathed her own blade, and made to easily block the strike- her speed barely even registered to the fuming Ryuko.

She was easily countered by the obsidian black blade, her surprise immediately evident, as she stared directly into those familiar, rose colored eyes- now so filled with animosity. 

Following the counter, the other girl sheathed the sword quickly, and smacked Ryuko clean with the sheathed blade. Still in the air, she followed it up with three quick strikes to her chest, and finished with an expertly placed jab forward, launching the girl back towards where she came from.

“Sumi?” Satsuki gasped under her breath at the girl in front of her, lowering their blade, and staring ahead at the girl skidding on the dirt, managing to catch herself on her feet with help from their crimson scissor.

They’ve never seen them so full of rage… Sumi’s expression was almost scarily stern and imposing, her reflexes fast enough to have likely stopped a bullet...

Raising her hand up, Sumi glared directly behind Satsuki, and snapped her fingers. “Fukuroda, you were much too slow.”

Jumping out from the clouds of smoke- a small man with a large, white coat, and studded, horned boxing helmet jumped out- his boxing gloves a dark red, made with pure Life Fiber. “Forgive me, ma’am. Boxing Club Captain, Takaharu Fukuroda is at your service.”

**Honnōji Academy 2-Star**

**Boxing Club Captain**

**TAKAHARU FUKURODA**

“You’ll be forgiven if you can do your job right, Captain Fukuroda.” Sumi scoffed. “Satsuki would’ve likely been hurt if I hadn’t stepped in to do your job for you.”

“M-My apologies, Lady Sumisorano…” He bowed his head, turning his attention to the girl slowly making her way back up. “Allow me to make it up to you both, by permitting me to finish off this insolent wench!”

“No, Fukuroda, you’ve shown already that you are not quite adequate.”

Stepping down, Sumi began to slowly unsheathe her sword once again. “How about you keep Satsuki safe instead, while I finish your job for you?”

As the blade glided out of its sheath, it’s rosy glow shined through the courtyard.

**ASAHOSHI** **: “Morning Star,” Life Fiber Destruction Weapon**

“As you wish, my Lady.” Fukuroda bowed, quickly making his way to protect the council president, standing directly in front of her.

“Are you sure about this, Sumi?” Satsuki asked, watching her partner climb down the steps, and reaching the dirt, her sword now fully drawn, sheath in her other hand.

“I… I’m not entirely, but at this point, I’m a bit too angry to say no.”

Anger wasn’t an emotion that she saw Sumi express that often, if at all. She gets upset, she gets flustered… but never angry. Not as angry as she is now.

“Then please, do as you wish.” Satsuki conceded, nodding to her.

Now back on her feet, and pushing students out of the way, Ryuko dashed ahead once more. “Out of the goddamn way, let me through!!”

She raised her crimson blade once again, only for it to be immediately countered again by the mint-ette, pushing her back. “That’s not going to happen, Ryuko!” She shouted, tossing her sheath back, being caught by the watching Satsuki.

With a firm grip of her hands on her blade, she pulled out a long strap of pink-colored fabric from out of her sleeve, and it quickly wrapped around the eye-ring part of the blade’s kashira. 

Satsuki had watched her style evolve, being mostly derivative of her own, yet incorporated one thing she had never expected. With Bakuzan, her tactic simply wasn’t as easily possible, but having seen the blade once- she decided to workshop a training kashira for the Bakuzan- allowing her to effectively use the Asahoshi, without once taking it from it’s resting pace.

They developed an intense form of sword play, rivaling Satsuki’s in strength, and kept them on even footing. But, one thing they lacked, despite the long blade- was range. Sumi remedied that downside with her own unique way of fighting…

“Ghk…” Ryuko gasped, holding tight her own sword in one hand, her other wiping away the dirt on her face. “What the hell, Sumi…?”

“I can’t have you harming her, Ryuko.” Sumi stood firm, gripping her blade tight in a battle-ready stance. “Whatever you’re thinking of trying- it’s not going to work against me.”

Ryuko had… not been expecting this.

“I… I don’t want to fight you, Sumi, not at all… but that damn _bitch_ knows something about my-” She stopped, realizing that Sumi likely wouldn’t have gotten what she was about to go on about.

“I know. You want to find information about your Dad, right?” She nodded, still ready for anything. “But, I won’t let you lay a single hand on that “bitch,” no matter what she or I know.”

Wait…

“What the hell do you mean “what she or I know?!” Do you know something too?!” She shouted back, her anger flaring up once again, boiling high.

“I can’t answer that question, Ryuko…” She sighed, her face slowly falling low. “I’m sorry… but if you want to know, you’ll have to beat it out of me… within an inch of my life.” Her feet stamped hard into the ground, twisting into a comfortable position. “But… I want to talk to you, Ryuko. I can’t promise that I’ll be able to tell you what you want to know… but I haven’t seen you for years…”

“Please, just… drop the scissor.”

She snapped.

“I don’t want to hear _anything_ you have to say to me, you fucking _bitch!!!_ ”

With a quick toss of the sword, outward Asahoshi flew, directly into the Scissor Blade with a practiced precision- knocking her clean back as she kept hold of the weapon.

A thick, pink strand of fabric flew out with it- that Sumi quickly grasped, and pulled the blade back, before easily catching it.

“Ryuko… please, you can’t win this fight… hell, I don’t even _want_ to fight you… I… I just want to talk.” She sighed, letting the pink fabric retract down her sleeve, gripping the blade again.

Staggering upward, and once again making a mad dash for her, their gaze looked murderous. “Shut the **_fuck_** up, Sumi!!”

Her blade spun around her arm, until she grasped it firmly, and made for a quick and ruthless slash, that was once again blocked by the extremely sturdy katana, followed by Sumi quickly spinning herself around the girl.

“I’ll come and see you later, Ryuko…” She whispered in the girls ear, before quickly wrapping her arms around the other girl’s chest.

“Wh-What?!”

“FINISHING MOVE: _FALLING STAR SUPLEX!!_ ”

Raising the girl clean off of her feet, she lifted her high above her, before falling back, causing her to land clean on the dirt with a hard, rumbling “thud”.

The moment the body hit the floor, it began to rain. 

Ryuko unable to move due to the bruises she sustained, and the suplex’s raw power, being more than enough to put the teenager in a small crater.

Sumi got right back up, her uniform now covered in patches of dirt and mud, and hair ruffled. Regardless, she leaned down, and gave a firm hug to the girl.

“Please, Ryuko…” She begged to the fallen girl in a whisper, speaking right in their ear. “Never again… never again do I want to fight you… just please, let me talk to you later…”

She stood back up, and began to walk back towards the awaiting Fukuroda and Satsuki.

“Fukuroda.” She spoke up, eyeing the boxer with an intense gaze. “Deal with the girl as you wish.”

“...Affirmative.” He nodded, watching the council vice-president walk by him, and up the concrete steps, accepting the handed sheath, and putting the sword right back into it, not before swiping away the droplets of water collected onto it.

Satsuki let her partner lean into her, as she wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I thought you might prove slightly amusing…” She began, looking at the somehow-beginning-to-stand Ryuko. “...But you’re just a fool who has no idea how to wield that scissor properly.”

With one last scoff, she began to walk away with Sumi at her side. “How dull.”

Raising her arm up, Ryuko grit her teeth. “We-We’re not done here... “ she growled, bloodied and bruised. “You know something, don’t you?!”

“MIND YOUR TONGUE!!” Fukuroda shouted, launching himself upward, and landing an extremely firm flying-kick directly into the vandal’s face.

“You’re nowhere near worthy enough of addressing the Ladies directly!!”

Ryuko’s body hobbled back down to the floor, face now much more bruised.

“Confiscate that Scissor.” Satsuki called back over her shoulder.

“Affirmative-”

“No!” Ryuko shouted, once again still _somehow_ on her feet. “This is the one thing… that I’ll never, ever… hand over…” Her gaze turned more intense, bordering once again on outright murderous. “ _Never!_ ”

She raised her sword back up- only to make a dull, lifeless swing towards the now taunting Fukuroda, easily being able to dodge each slurred swipe. 

“Honestly- do you think such a telegraphed attack like that could land?!” He gloated, easily being able to run circles around the wounded girl. “This is easier to dodge than a child’s punch!! Come on, do you think you can- _shit!!_ ”

He slipped on the now forming mud piles below his feet, allowing Ryuko the moment she was waiting for.

‘ _Perfect!!_ ’ She shouted in her head, before quickly turning on her heels to run away, sword dragging behind her and her feet heavy against the rock and mud.

“Eh?! Ryuko-chan!! You’re leaving already?!” Mako shouted at their retreating figure, watching as they made many sporadic, uneven steps in her escape.

As an old delivery man drove into the school right then, and Ryuko rammed herself directly into the man and the bike, knocking him and the delivered goods over. “Sorry, but I need to borrow your bike!” She shouted at the man, sprawled on the floor, as she quickly mounted the small vehicle- and skidded across the mud, and out of the school in moments.

“D-Damn it!!” Fukuroda shouted, his stubby legs finally making their way to where the girl once was. “That girl knows how to beat a hasty retreat…”

As she continued to rush down the water-slicked road, Ryuko’s eyes began to tear up, and outward fell thick, hot globs of salty tears. 

“Sumi…” She gasped, Her words reverberating throughout her head… ‘ _Just please… let me talk to you later…_ ’

‘ _Why…? Why, Sumi…?_ ’ She internally cried out. ‘ _Why can’t you tell me…? What happened to you…?_ ’


	5. If Only I Had Thorns Like A Thistle: Act 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a chance encounter, Ryuko returns to Honnōji save a new friend.

“You… stupid,  _ goddamn _ , fool!!”

A hard, bamboo sword was slapped over Fukuroda’s head, again and again until it broke, sending a rain of splinters cascading throughout the room.

“I… have no excuses to offer...” Fukuroda bowed, keeping his bruised head low. 

“Damn right you don’t!!” The green warrior shouted, glaring intently at him for a few moments, before letting out a deep sigh. “Just get the hell out of here already, work out a plan to rope them back here, I don’t give a shit how you do it- just do it.”

“Alright…” The boxer nodded sheepishly, bowing to the warrior and the rest of the people in the room furiously. “Then please, excuse me…” He sorrowfully nodded, bruised and battered, but pride deeply wounded above all. He left the room shortly after, trudging his feet against the velvet carpeting.

The low, calming hiss of fresh, flowing tea filled the air. A cold, more bitter brew for Satsuki, and a warm, sweeter one for the still warming up Sumi...

Who had decided to curl up in blankets on the couch, after being given a fresh set of clothes from Nonon- albeit the ‘fresh set of clothes’ was a much smaller, pink lounge robe- which got a kick out of all the elites, but she couldn’t help but laugh along with them.

“Not only did you allow that transfer student who mocked Lady Satsuki and Lady Sumi escape… you also failed to confiscate that scissor as you were ordered!!” Gamagōri shouted at the green warrior, his stance looming over him. “And, mistakes made by the club  _ you _ manage, are your mistakes, Sanageyama!!”

“And that’s why I  _ disciplined _ him, so stop barking at me!!”

Tossing the broken bamboo towards nowhere in particular, Sanageyama lowered himself into one of the chairs, propping his feet up defiantly.

**Honnōji Academy 3-Star**

**Athletic Committee Chairman**

**UZU SANAGEYAMA**

“But, if so…” He began, splaying his arms out around the rim of the chair. “Your Disciplinary Committee’s mistake in allowing the Ladies to be mocked, then… is yours, Gamagōri.”

“If you two could cease your squabbling for a moment…” Inumuta called over, typing away on his trusty laptop. “I’ve found some good info on Ryuko Matoi, some things we don’t already know about her.”

**Honnōji Academy 3-Star**

**Information and Strategy Committee Chairman**

**HŌKA INUMUTA**

He took a sip from a glass of lemonade at his side, and undid his uniform’s high collar. “She’s been starting a lot of fights in the eastern Kanto region, at high schools subjugated by the Honnōji Academy, but whether she truly knew the affiliation or not, we have no idea.”

Turning to the group, he readjusted his glasses. “Apparently, these battles were all on an individual level, so words here were never sent. She’s been hopping schools left and right, and unknowingly dwindling some of our benefactor’s numbers, likely being the reason as to why some support for our school has been dwindling.”

“Such negligence…” Satsuki sighed, taking another sip of tea. “Inform all branch high school principles to remain on guard of her.”

“My sincerest apologies…” Inumuta bowed.

Nonon perked up, flashing a cocky smirk.

“ _ Oh _ , so the toad, the monkey, and the snake have all screwed up?” Chuckled the pink conductor, absentmindedly moving her conductor’s baton up and down. 

**Honnōji Academy 3-Star**

**Non-Athletic Committee Chairwoman**

**NONON JAKUZURE**

“Although, I was surprised to see that Scissor Blade get so easily bested by the Asahoshi… it could barely even leave a scratch.” She commented, turning her head to the bundled up Sumi at her side. “You handled that girl pretty well, I’ll give you that.”

Taking a deep sip from the warm tea, Sumi blissfully sighed. “Yeah, I guess I did… can’t handle this cold I got, though…”

“You’ve known that you don’t have that good of an immune system, Lady Sumi…” Inumuta chided from his bar seat. “You should’ve left things to Fukuroda to begin with.”

“Yeah… sorry…” She sighed, much more somberly, taking another long sip of tea and setting it down on the table.

“There’s one important thing that we must take note of...” Satsuki started, setting her cup of tea down in it’s saucer, on her own table. “She has the other half of the Scissor Blade… we can be absolutely certain now that the Grand Couturier hadn’t been hiding it.”

“Thank god for that…” Nonon sighed, leaning back in her mess of plushies and instruments that was on her half of the couch. “Oh… wait, speaking of  _ them _ …”

“The progress on  _ Kintsukuroi? _ ” Inumuta finished, twirling the bar stool around, taking his laptop with him, resting in his lap.

“Oh yeah…” Sanageyama nodded, trying his absolute best to remember what they were talking about. “ _ That thing _ … Kintsukuroi…”

A bamboo sword was slapped over his head, as Gamagōri stared at him unimpressed. “Kintsukuroi, Sanageyama, in case you didn’t remember…” he started, ignoring the anger from the green warrior.

“...Is the Kamui made for me.” The mint-ette finished.

The room looked towards the bundled up Sumi, finishing up her cup of tea, and kindly thanking Soroi for having refilled it quickly. “Me and Satsuki asked for it to be made… 4 years ago. It took… a lot of sacrifice, but we managed to finagle something out of Ragyō and Harime.”

She wished she didn’t have to do what she did… but if it was for the good of the world, she had to be ready to do anything.

“When we managed to quietly raid the tattered and scorched grounds of the Matoi Manner- after it had been burnt down by Harime… we found schematics for something. A Kamui... with the capability of performing  _ alongside _ a person, instead of standard “being worn by the person” stuff…”

God… she didn’t like thinking of this part of her life all too much… but…

“We couldn’t find out what that truly  _ meant _ , but we know that something was made there, however we also couldn’t find it within the allotted time we had to search undetected… so we just made out with everything that we  _ could _ find…”

Raising a hand up to curl a strand of hair, Sumi sighed again. “We couldn’t really go with any other choice. We approached the two about it… and Ragyō demanded something from me in return…”

She unconsciously curled in on herself. “For the development of a new Kamui… she asked for an unrestrained night alone… with just me.”

The room went deathly silent.

“They absolutely have to know what the hell we’re trying to do… but they’re letting us do it anyways… so at this point, all we can do is just keep going, until we’re ready for it…”

Sumi wished- prayed even, for a life where she didn’t have to feel those hands on her body, touching her in ways she’d never allow.

With a deep sigh, she slumped down. “Whatever… we got the Kamui, and it’s done now… partly fresh from the same source as  _ Junketsu _ , we have Kintsukuroi… made with the same, albeit altered schematics as that undiscovered Kamui that’d likely been burned to ash in the Manor.”

Everybody other than Satsuki looked towards Sumi with grim, knowing expressions, unable to offer any condolences. Nobody could really sympathize, and that was okay… they shouldn’t have to deal with what she and Satsuki have.

Nobody ever should.

“Wait…” Sanageyama began, after letting the silence sit for a bit longer. “If Kintsukuroi is finished… when the hell are we supposed to be getting it?”

That… was a good question.

“We’re just supposed to wait for it, I suppose…” Sumi responded, racking her brain through that answer. “She said she’d deliver it at some point soon… but we don’t really know when.”

“Damn… shady-ass bitch…” Sanageyama scoffed, leaning back in his seat.

“Kintsukuroi’s completion is, without a doubt, going to be a pivotal moment for us.” Satsuki hummed, taking a sip herself of refilled tea. “Sumi is the only one who would be necessarily capable of wielding the Kamui among our small group, and we would be even stronger with two capable Kamui wielders on our side…”

She let out a small sigh, and gazed intently at her folded hands.

“...My only worry… is it’s a Kamui created by Harime… we don’t know what it could be fully capable of, neither of how the process will go when dawning it… it’s a gamble, but yet again one we  _ must _ take.”

Inumuta cleared his throat, drawing the room’s attention. “If I may interject, I may be able to shed some light on that topic.”

Tapping away at the keys of his laptop, he put a large video feed on the back screen of the room. “I’ve been able to bug REVOCS’ systems effectively this time… I have access to internal data logs, cameras, but most importantly- where Harime’s been logging her developmental process of Kintsukuroi…”

A large set of characters filled the screen, what looked to be typed out, probably scientific documents. “I have to admit, she knows how to take some good data. According to her written accounts, she’s been adhering to every single ask made, and under Ragyō’s explicit orders to do so, no less.”

“By all accounts…” He took a sip from his lemonade. “The Kamui Kintsukuroi should be… well, I can’t exactly say harmless… But it shouldn’t have anything shady sewn into its fibers, the worry we have now is Harime’s effectiveness of tearing down her own creation should we reach that point.”

“Inumuta…” Sumi began, turning her head to the cerulean boy. “Why didn’t you tell me this, exactly?”

“Because, Lady Sumi, I want to only inform you of things I have a certainty on. It’s ultimately a lapse in my judgement, not informing you of all possible updates… but truth be told, she’s a maniac. I had to make sure she wasn’t just writing down bullshit for 4 years… but she truly had been working on it for that long of a time.”

Multiple video feeds were put up on the screen, of various days of working on the Kamui in question. Harime was hunched over most of the time, long blonde hair tied back in an almost comically huge bun, working with pink spectacles and white lab coat on as she expertly wove the uniform, making multiple at a time as well, likely for stress testing purposes.

“She’s been truly working on this thing, exactly as asked, for 4 years straight… it’s almost baffling how such a psychotic person could do it… and I only found out because of Ragyō’s consistent check-ins.”

Sure enough, on each and every video, at some point that demon of a lady had shown up, checking in on the couturier.

Inumuta chuckled to himself, watching as Harime so obviously got upset with whatever the demon had told her. “It’s almost perplexing how they'd willingly allow this to happen… but, she listens to Ragyō, and Ragyō herself is a very… primal person. I can imagine whatever happened that night, caused her to return the favor in an almost laser-guided way, like she feels  _ obligated _ to follow through.”

“Yeah… it’s… something like that…” Sumi slumped even further into the seat, and blankets. “I don’t…  _ ever _ , want to think about what I had to do to get this to happen… ever again…”

“And you won’t have to.” Satsuki interjected herself, crossing her legs in her chair. “The Kintsukuroi is complete, and we must simply now wait for it to be delivered to us. That shall be that, and we shall talk of the Kamui’s conception no more.”

“Understood, Lady Satsuki.” The room called back.

* * *

She was lucky that the place was nearby the school…

Because it would’ve been the most annoying thing if she had to stop and get gas or something… she didn’t know how much this dinky scooter had in the tank. 

Stood in the charred ruins of the Matoi Manor, Ryuko let the rain fall heavy on her head, as she shoved the blade into the earth, resting herself against it.

She walked past burnt, wet photos of her younger self… she saw flashes of memories, of her father hunched over, bloodied and on Death’s door, and she watched whoever had destroyed the Manor getting away, holding the other half of the broken scissors she now held.

“Dad…”

The tears began to brim in her eyes once again… her heart getting heavier than the rain.

“I’m sorry, Dad…  _ just _ when I got a clue to your killer’s identity in my reach… I…”

The tears fell along with the rain, much heavier and much larger. She jabbed her blade straight into the ground to hold up her rattled body.

“If only I had more power!!”

But, before she could grasp it, the floor gave underneath her.

“Wh-Wha-?!”

A trap door stood right underneath her feet- and the sword had weakened it enough to break.

Downward she fell, rolling into the stone sides, until she was able to properly wedge her sword into the earth, feeling it slow her down only barely, until her back came into contact with planks of wood- bursting clean through it with her weight and speed, until her back broke right through what looked to be the roof of an underground lab, now dilapidated and torn with time.

She was lucky she landed on top of a pile of cloth…

“I had no idea… something like this was under the house… Sh-Shit!!”

A wound reopened on her arm, dripping blood down the pile of fabric, staining the whites a deep, crimson red. “Guess I gotta find a way outta here now, huh…?”

Working her way out of the mess of dirty cloth, she started to look around-

**“Wait…”** A deep, dark voice called to her.  **“More… Give me more…”**

“H-Hey!!” Ryuko called out, sword at the ready, and surveyed the area around her. “Wh-Who’s there?!”

All she could hear was that voice, echoing throughout the room…  **“More… give me more…!”** It kept growling at her, the location of where it was coming from indiscernible… She wouldn’t admit it, but it was getting to her.

**“More… please… give me** **_more!!!_ ** **”**

A piece of cloth was thrown at her, which she quickly sliced in half, only for another piece to be lunging right at her- a devilish grin on it’s face and it’s one eye glowing a sinister yellow.

“Wh-What?!” Ryuko gasped, slowly realizing that her assailant was… “A-A sailor uniform?!”

It collided with her, having enough strength to push her directly into the stone wall.  **“Please, don’t go, put me on, put me on!!”** It shouted at her, already tearing off her shirt, revealing her chest.

“What the hell are you, some kind of pervert?!” She screamed, trying to push back the cloth with one eye, only for it to push back with even more power.

**“Wear me, please, and feed me your blood!!”** It called back.

“A-A sailor uniform is trying to attack me right now?!” She continued to struggle, pushing and shaking, but unable to get the living uniform off of her.

**“That isn’t important, please, just put me on, I don’t want to go back to sleep!!”** It begged, pleaded, and gasped, as it continuously tried to work off her shirt and jacket, thrashing around to loosen up the garments.

“A-A sailor uniform is talking to me- wait, it’s talking?!” Ryuko cried, still trying in vain to remove the garment, before it shoved itself in her face

**“That isn’t important right now- trust me!!”** It begged her, it’s face somehow managing to mellow down.  **“I promise you, you’ll understand- just please, put me on!!”**

It shoved her down onto the floor, picking up huge puffs of dust from the cloth all around them. “If you won’t put me on, I’ll be worn by you by force if I must!!”

Skirt, jacket, and shirt were thrown outwards in the room, as the uniform split itself in half, quickly working it’s way up her body, until a satisfying ‘click’ was heard from the uniform’s previously hidden suspending straps.

“H-Hey, stop that, what the hell are you doing?!”

**“Look, see, it’s a perfect fit- I promise you, I won’t hurt you!!”**

“Cut it out… cut it the  _ fuck _ out!!!”

With a swathe of crimson energy, the uniform was bound to her body, constricting her… red sparks emitted from her body as she felt her whole being surrounded by a foreign feeling she couldn’t properly grasp… until all that energy in her finally reached its climax- causing a huge wave of red energy to shoot up out of her, into the roof above, and outside of the many holes of the building.

The uniform that was on her…  _ why the hell did it feel so right _ ?!

Before she could ask it any questions, let alone speak to it at all, she could feel herself start to slur… her body was giving out- after being pushed to its limits, she was reaching hers.

Unable to hold up her body, she began to slump… until she landed directly on top of a pile of cloth… and began to rest. Swathed in an incomprehensible warmth that lulled her easily into it’s embrace… sending her into a deep slumber.

* * *

When she awoke… she was in... a field?

A field of nothing but flowers… all roses, thorns removed.

She slowly began to stand up, looking around her at the landscape, all lush green fields with only roses in sight… But in front of her, was a girl, sitting upon a rock. Long, flowing, raven black hair that draped over their whole body, and a completed set of massive, scarlet Scissors stuck in the earth right next to her.

Their head turned, and she saw the woman in front of her… Almost looked like her.

“Ryuko?” They asked, their voice reverberating, as if they were in a small room.  _ Their voice even sounded like hers _ … but not, at the same time. Their hair had a long, singular fringe of red, just like hers, arcing downward the same length of the rest of her hair- down as low as her feet.

“I…” They squeaked, hobbling up to her feet, only to realize she was completely nude. “O-Oh crap, uh…”

“Oh no, it’s okay, sorry…” The girl mumbled, followed by Ryuko being suddenly covered with a long, white, dress-like garment. “Is that better?” The other girl asked, tilting their head slightly.

“Y-Yeah… thanks…” She mumbled back, deciding to walk cautiously towards the other girl, slowly but surely getting a read on their face… finding that only one eye was visible- her left- and that eye’s iris was of a brilliant gold.

After trudging through the sea of roses, Ryuko sat on the rock next to the girl, unsure of what to really say… or do, about what was happening.

One minute she was in the middle of some dank basement lab thing, fending off a piece of clothing that  _ won _ , the next, she was in the middle of a field with absolutely nothing but beautiful red roses... 

“I’m sure you’ve got… a lot of questions.” The girl next to her sighed, Ryuko taking notice they were dressed in a similar garment. “But, you can go at it at your own pace, okay?”

“Yeah… sure…”

What could she really ask right now? Well, for starters…   
  
“Who… are you, exactly?” She began, turning to stare directly at her.

“Me?” She chuckled. “I don’t really have a name… I was just sort of… made to be, without one.”

“What… What do you mean, ‘made?’”

“You know that sailor uniform who tried to force themselves onto you…?” She began, sheepishly. “That… that was me…”

“Wh-What the hell?!” Ryuko gasped, pointing an accusatory finger at her. “That was  _ you?! _ ”

The girl waved her hand with her apology. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t really… have all too much of a choice, so really I had to… but, again, sorry.”

“I would’ve been more fine with it if you had just done so a bit more… civilly? And if you told me you were a girl?!” She pouted, giving them the stink eye. “Like, come on, you sounded like some scary old dude…”

“Y-Yeah… going a few years without any liquids will do that to your throat…” She tried to chuckle, followed by hanging her head low. “S-Sorry…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine…” Ryuko relented, putting her arms up. “But seriously though… just, what the hell are you?”

“I’m… what’s known as a Kamui…” she began, twiddling her thumbs. “I was made by your- well I guess  _ our _ \- Dad, to help you fight against… the very thing I’m made of; the Life Fibers.”

“I… what?”

“I don’t really know a lot myself other than that- honestly…” She sighed, giving them a pleading look. “All I know is that... I’m supposed to be worn by you… and you’re supposed to wear me.”

“Huh…” Ryuko sighed herself, eyeing the girl with a contemplative look. “So… if Dad made you… just… what the hell can you  _ do  _ exactly?”

“Oh, that I can answer as well!” She perked up, before leaning in close to Ryuko. “Do you mind if I hug you?”

“I… uh, sure…?”

She quickly wrapped her arms around the other girl, and in an instant, she was gone.

“H-Hey, where’d you go?!” Ryuko quickly got up, looking left and right for the girl that was just in front of her eyes.

“I’m on you, look at your clothes!” She called out, from right under her.

And sure enough- that uniform that was on her body before she got… warped to here, was on her. “O-Oh!”

It was very much a sailor uniform… but, it had been given a black and red color scheme, a belt that had side hip-plating, an equally black skirt, and what felt like only half of chest armor- seeing that it was a crossed out eye, the giant yellow eye she saw before on the mirroring side.

“So this…” Ryuko began, holding out the cloth in front of her. “Is you…?”

“Yep!” The uniform confirmed, the eye giving a happy looking expression back at her. “I don’t have a name so… I can’t exactly  _ properly  _ greet you…”

A name…

“I… I think I got one…” Ryuko nodded, seeing the only possible option already in her head. “A name, that is… You want my blood or something, right?”

“Yeah, it’s what I need to live, pretty much…” The uniform confirmed.

“Then… how about  _ Senketsu? _ ”

“ _ Senketsu _ …?”

“Well, Senketsu means fresh blood, so I thought that would work fine… considering you need my  _ fresh blood  _ to… live, I guess?”

“I… I like that… ‘Senketsu…’ it sounds nice.”

“Well… I guess it’s nice to meet you, Senketsu!”

“Yeah… Nice to meet you too, Ryuko.”

* * *

“Fukuroda…”

Sanageyama stood in front of probably the absolute  _ stupidest _ thing he’s ever seen in his life.

“Yes?” The boxer smirked, eyeing the green warrior and his hellish contraption, back and forth.

“I know I said you can do whatever the hell you want to get that Matoi girl back here… but why in the hell did you decide that a giant deep-fryer was the best idea?”

Stood in the center of Honnōji’s main entrance field, was what appeared to be the Arts and Crafts Club’s current project: a boxing arena, set up in front of a massive deep frying vat and restraining device. The former having what appeared to be a second year girl strapped to it-  _ upside- fucking- down _ .

“P-PLEASE, LET ME DOWN!!” The bowl-cut girl cried, trying her best to hold her legs as close as possible so her skirt wouldn’t just outright fall down.

“Can you at least turn the girl the right way up?!” Sanageyama shouted at the boxer, wincing at the volume of the shouting girl. “Like as far as I’m concerned you just did that because you thought it would be hot if their skirt fell down!!”

“Y-Yes, please do that!!” The girl in question pleaded, trying in vain to shimmy her way out and keep her undergarments from being flashed to the bustling crowd- who were half watching and half setting up the battlefield. 

“But then it wouldn’t be torture!!” Fukuroda shouted back. “If they want to get down from there, it’s after they’ve been deep fried.”

Raising his fingers up to his forehead, Sanageyama deeply sighed, rubbing his temple. “Look, the least you could do is turn the girl the right way back up… I’d comment on the  _ gigantic deep-fryer _ , but honestly I just don’t care about that anymore…”

Fukuroda just scoffed. “Honestly, do you not understand what torture is?” He grumbled, before turning to a couple of workers. “Oi, how’re things going so far?!”

One of the various workers perked up, and gave a thumbs-up. “Things are good on our end, Sir! We’re all ready to go!!”

“Perfect!! Get me a microphone, we’re moving onto the next phase of the plan!!”

* * *

After a bit too much trial-and-error, Ryuko managed to hobble her way up a vent that somehow led to the surface, grasping tight the long, tattered, fabric cloak they covered their entire visage with.

She at the very least didn’t mind that she had some company- she just wished she wasn’t forced to look like a stripper.

Scissor held tight in one hand, another, now gloved hand on the fabrics around her body, she looked towards the massive, looming Honnō Town.

“Are we out yet?” Senketsu asked, trying to shimmy as much as they could to get the fabrics off of them. “I can’t exactly see with this cloak over me!”

Ryuko’s blush came back full force. “And I wouldn’t have to wear this damn cloak if you didn’t make me look like some emo stripper…”

She absolutely  _ hated  _ the thought of walking around in an outfit that showed much more skin than she’d ever allow- even inside a bathing suit. She’d take a one-piece over a bikini any day, thank you very much.

But, even then, she couldn’t deny that it wasn’t  _ entirely  _ uncomfortable of an experience… Senketsu felt so naturally warm, likely due to the flowing blood in her… veins? Wait, what gender even  _ was  _ Senketsu?

“Hey, Senketsu…” Ryuko muttered, trying to get used to walking in high heels as she slowly trekked her way towards the scooter she arrived on. “I kind of forgot to ask, but… are you a boy, or a girl?”

“I…” The uniform began. “I wasn’t really ever  _ given  _ a gender… just some form of… appearance?”

“So, you wouldn’t mind if I called you a girl, right?” Ryuko looked down, peeking through the fabrics right at the now larger eye above her chest that began to stare back. “You looked a lot like one in that weird… mind-place or whatever that was… and now that you’re not so parched you sound like one, too.”

“I’m fine with that.” Senketsu blinked. “I think I might just… sound like that to you, though? As much as I’d like to tell you why I think that, I can’t really think why myself.”

“‘S fine…” Ryuko turned back ahead, trying her best to remain in the shadows of the now sunsetting day, clambering onto the scooter, sword held tight between her legs. “Just don’t think too much about it, I guess. I don’t want to deal with a talking sailor uniform with a headache.”

“I don’t think I can get headaches, actually…” The uniform hummed.

Revving hard on the scooter’s ignition handle, it slowly purred to life, followed by wheels skidding against the dirt- before making quick contact with the pavement of the road.

As she drove towards the massive city, she began to hear loud crackles of what sounded like… a speaker system- coming from all of the surrounding light posts.

“ _ Attention, Transfer student Ryuko Matoi of Class K! _ ”

She perked up, looking towards the source of the noise.

“ _ In one hour from now, your best friend’s execution will be carried out!! _ ”

“What the fuck?!” Ryuko shouted, instinctively revving even harder, causing the scooter to shoot forward much beyond the speed limit.

“ _ As shared responsibility for your crime of treason against Honnōji Academy!! _ ”

She sped down the road, dodging a few massive trucks that looked to be taking in goods to the city, and ignoring the blaring honks that came her way, only honing in on the speakers targeted to her. 

“ _ If you’d like to stop it… quit skulking around and show yourself!! _ ”

“Shit…” Ryuko growled low, pushing the machine to its absolute limits as it sped right into town, turning harshly onto the spiraling road that led right up to the apex.

“What’s wrong, Ryuko?” Senketsu’s voice cut through the winds that pelted against her face, clear as day.

“Those sons of bitches are going to execute Mankanshoku!!” She shouted back, continuing to drift and turn against the road.

“A friend of yours, I assume?” Senketsu responded, before humming. “You’d best keep pushing this scooter as fast as you can, if it’s execution they’re talking about…”

“...Then I don’t have a second to waste!!”

* * *

“The student council are animals, Principle…”

Mikisugi so  _ desperately  _ tried to plead with the faculty of the school’s faculty, for  _ so long  _ that the schools’ Council had been much too savage in their manner of handling issues among the students… I mean sure, he was a spy, but he wasn’t heartless.

“I’m afraid there’s nothing that can be done…” The elderly man responded solemnly, looking down on the outlandish scene in the front field of the school. “We’d best stay out of it… The chair of this academy’s board of directors is President Kiryūin’s mother, and President Hoshi’s adoptive mother, after all...”

Standing at the very top of the school, the twin President’s looked down upon the scene as well, the rest of the Elites behind them.

“We’re all nothing more than her hired underlings… as unfortunate as it is… there’s nothing we can do.”

Down below, Fukuroda handed the microphone back to one of the various workers, who quickly fled through the now massive crowd that had formed.

“I hate how you did it…” Sanageyama began. “But, using a hostage is a classic strategy, it can’t ever really fail.”

“That’s why I can’t afford to.” Fukuroda continued to stare ahead, eyeing the massive entrance of the school intently. “If I fail again, my Goku Uniform would be confiscated. I’m just happy that Mankanshoku was the only one the transfer student had talked to, we’ve got perfect leverage.”

Sanageyama turned to the boxer, a smirk now forming on his face. “So, you’re dead-set on this, huh… all right, show me the power of a man’s resolve, Fukuroda.”

Behind them, still hung upside-down against the massive metal device that hovered her above the massive vat of fry-oil, Mako continued to flush as she kept her body rigid. “Mako’s in a big pinch… everybody’s staring and they can almost see my panties…  _ I didn’t even put on my sexy panties today!! _ ”

“Alright, everyone!!” Fukuroda shouted, gathering the crowd's attention. “Time to give everybody a bit of a demonstration!!”

On cue, the Culinary club slowly began to cart out a dolly, on top of it, resting above a blanket of fine white cloth, a plate, with a live lobster that was surrounded by various veggies and greens of some kind. 

With his massive Life Fiber mitt, Fukuroda grabbed the crustacean, and waved it in front of the crowd. “To any of you who think this isn’t real…” 

He shoved the lobster into a now-provided container of breading and flour, before just as quickly dipping the live beast right into the massive frier that was right underneath Mankanshoku. 

After a few seconds of loud sizzling, and the liquid slowly browning along with the beast, he pulled it out, revealing to the crowd a perfectly deep-fried lobster. 

“H-Holy shit!!” One student shouted. “H-He’s for real, that’s an actual deep-fryer!!”

Breading and flour began to be poured on a massive saucer that now separated the hanging student from the vat, to which Mankanshoku responded by giving a loud shriek.

“B-But if I get deep fried- the oil’ll make my uniform see-through!!”

As Sanageyama rested himself on one of the various stands around the ring and strange contraption, he gave a weak chuckle. “That girl’s got some resolve too… either that, or she’s just a big idiot.”

In the very middle of the crowd- a couple of boys with various acquired sets of weapons and power tools looked both slack-jawed and upsettingly at the scene before their eyes- most notably of which was Lighting-Speed Mataro.

“Just hang in there, Sis, we’ll-”

A hand grabbed firmly onto his arm, one that felt way too warm.

“Wh-What?!”

A cloaked figure was crouched low right next to him- one that had a familiar red streak in their hair that they swear they’ve seen before.

“Who- Who’re…”

They turned to the boy for a moment, their piercing blue eyes urging him to stay put.

Before he could react- that same cloaked figure instantly jumped up- much higher than anybody else realistically should be able to, and kicked up almost impossible winds in their wake, instantly causing all the surrounding bodies to react by closing their eyes against the strong gales, and uttering sudden gasps of surprise.

The cloak figure shot right towards one of the student’s faces, their deep black and red heel bouncing clean off his face, before she quickly hopped right to another, and another, and another, before she shot straight towards the hanging student- Mankanshoku.

Quickly grabbing hold of their crimson blade, she shoved it straight into the metal, effectively grappling herself onto it, using the dead space between her heels and her feet to grip onto the thin metal plates that kept Mankanshoku in place.

The girl instantly gasped as they looked up at their cloaked savior. “R-Ryuko-chan!!” She squeaked, before realizing that she was being given a very… interesting view, being able to see right up her cloak, and instantly started blushing.

“Just hold on tight…” Ryuko responded, kicking hard against the metal cuffs that held her tight, instantly breaking the other girl’s arms free.

“H-Hey, that’s the transfer student!!” One of the onlooking students shouted. “Go get her!!”

That student, along with a few others, immediately took the chance to jump up towards the metal contraption, landing straight into the giant saucer of breading and flour, managing to topple it downward, along with sending the hanging device backwards, causing the students to land straight into the frying oil.

With loud sizzles, the students managed to somehow climb out- their bodies coated with burns and deep-fry bits, screaming and shouting in pain as they landed with thuds on the ground.

Spinning through the air, and holding tightly onto the once-captive girl, Ryuko landed straight into the middle of the massive arena, clutching her blade in one hand, and her other arm wrapped around Mankanshoku, who looked as stiff as a board.

“So, you’ve finally arrived, transfer student!!” Fukuroda shouted confidently in his microphone, jumping down from one of the four posts of the arena. 

“Using a hostage is playing dirty.” Ryuko scoffed, before gently letting her hand go from the girl at her side. “I thought you were a boxer, aren’t you supposed to have honor?”

Mako gave a hesitant look towards her savior, before quickly blinking various times to get that image of before out of her head- trying her best to keep her blush down. 

“If you truly are what you say you are…” Ryuko began, slowly raising her sword, getting herself into a fighting position. “...Then let’s settle this- one-on-one!” 

“I don’t recall ever recruiting you as a club member.” Fukuroda chuckled into his microphone, his voice coming out of various speakers loud and powerful. “But, if that’s what you wish, who would I be to deny it?”

He tossed away the microphone towards various workers, and quickly worked a mouth-guard into his mouth. “I can’t just deny a challenge… especially if it’s one from the likes of you.”

“Let’s go!!”

A bell was rung, being quickly followed by what appeared to be a blonde haired girl jumping into the center of the ring, holding up a massive sign that read “ROUND 1,” who was oh-so fashionably dressed in an american-flag patterned bikini, with outward-protruding spikes

Fukuroda wasted no time, he quickly began to dash forward, raising his fist up and winding it back. “I’m gonna haze you like a newbie!!” 

Completely ignoring the announcing girl of the round, his gloved mitt exploded into a massive, sparkling flurry of punches, sending the announcer girl sprawling across the mat, and fist after fist began to slam directly into Ryuko’s unguarded chest, each hit bouncing off of the ring’s metal chain “ropes” and hitting every single point on her body.

“How’d you like this, eh?!” Fukuroda shouted, watching as each hit landed right on target. “The squared circle is overflowing with the flood of my left jabs!!”

As the many fists bounced out of the arena, others continuing to pummel the still unmoving opponent, he laughed aloud and began to run forward. “Aaand… heeee… moooves… into a right straight!!” He shouted aloud to himself. “But really, it’s a  _ corkscrew!! _ ”

His fist began to spin, causing a loud whirl to sound throughout the air, almost as if his hand had  _ literally  _ become a screw- or rather, a drill- as it quickly shot straight towards the cloaked girl’s face.

“ _ TEK! KEN! FUN! SAI!! _ ”

As the drill went closer, Ryuko just store down the boxer with ever-increasing animosity, until at the very last moment- she used her newfound speed to quickly move her scarlet scissor to block the fist, but was unfortunately unable to stop the corkscrew from decimating the fabric cover she was hiding in.

As the corkscrew tore up the old cloth, it revealed to the world around her why she was so self-conscious about her body.

Her bikini-like, obsidian black outfit shone in the sunset with red glares, the red highlights fading from a striking crimson to a faded black consistently, her hands entirely covered as well as her legs from the thigh-down. Her chest was, unfortunately, not so lucky- as the only thing covering her breasts were red straps that went directly down to the minimal fabric covering her privates- that jutted out like a miniskirt in a way she’d rather be caught  _ dead  _ wearing instead of alive. 

Her heels dug into the mat as she held her ground against the force of the punch, her face flushing a deep scarlet as the crowds around her all simultaneously bellowed out with glee- she could even hear Mankanshoku gasping that same way most of all…

“Wh-What in the hell sort of outfit is that?!” Fukuroda shouted, instantly beginning to sweat, now internally debating if he should continue his onslaught, or back away.

“Q-Quit gawking!!” Ryuko shot back, her upper body’s armor continuing to pulsate in color, one massive eye staring down the boxer and the other appearing as though it was scarred- and kept eternally shut. Her eyes were still as blue as ever- but her hair had raised slightly, underneath various strands outward shone a deep scarlet, pulsating in color the same way her accentuating lines on her armor were.

“Y-You’re trying to distract me with sexiness, aren’t you?!” Fukuroda continued to babble, looking the girl in the eyes and at her chest erratically. 

“Like hell I am!!” Ryuko scoffed, her face growing even more flushed. “I’m not wearing this because I want to!!”

“H-How dare you, you’re mocking me- mocking boxing- no, mocking  _ all sports!! _ ”

“I couldn’t give less of a shit, asswipe!!” Ryuko snarled, before quickly pushing the boxer back, and using her now much lighter footwork to move around to one of the four posts. “I just came here to kick your ass!!”

“Th-This is unforgivable!!” Fukuroda continued to shout, jumping to the opposite post and pointing directly at them. “I’ll show you what happens when you mess with me, you- you  _ stripper!! _ ”

Latching the side of his massive belt, he grasped a small, dangling cube that looked to be the same shade of red as his gloves, and quickly broke off it’s adorning chain.

Ryuko gasped in a form of awe and worry as he clutched the small cube, his boxing glove quickly beginning to form into a more cuboid shape, the very ends of it looking much more like a meat pounder than a regulation glove. 

“I’ll show you my full power- discarding the soft gloves for a much harder set that I’ve been using for away bouts at other schools…”

“Wh-What?!” Ryuko shouted, as the boxer slowly began to raise skyward the massive, square beast of a “boxing glove.”

“Behold!!” Fukuroda shouted aloud. “These are the real Honnōji Academy Boxing Club athleticism-augmenting Two-Star gloves!!!”

**‘PROBABLY’ ILLEGAL**

**_HONNŌJI ACADEMY BOXING CLUB ATHLETICISM-AUGMENTING TWO-STAR GLOVES_ **

He quickly grasped a hanging chain from his glove, and outward shot out multiple crimson spikes- massive and small- and the tips spiked out in equal measure, rows and rows of long, square spikes that looked much too heavy for such a small man to be able to carry.

“These Life Fiber things sure are the best!! If I didn’t ‘wrap’ them, students from other schools would be too scared to fight me!! Harder than steel, lighter than air- it’s the whole package!!”

The crowd managed to take their eyes off of the practically naked Ryuko, in favor of gazing at the gargantuan gauntlet their boxing club president was now adorning. “But… being able to have them out for all to see… it fills me with even more strength!!!”

“THIS… IS… A… GOKU… UNIFORM!!!”

Ryuko’s expression finally managed to mellow out, and just a bit of her embarrassment. “Even someone like me who doesn’t know the rules can see how illegal that is…”

She had to admit, though… this was really getting her blood pumping.

“But still… you’re fuckin’ on.”

The bell chimed once more, and the now slightly bruised but patched up announcer hobbled back into the middle of the arena, holding up a massive “ROUND 2.”

“I don’t know what the hell you’ve had hidden in that cloak you’re wearing,” Fukuroda began, dashing his way across the length of the arena, knocking the announcer lady clean out of the way, only for her to slide and tumble across the mat once more. “But now- you’re half naked…”

His fist began to spin once more, twirling through the air at blinding speeds. “So I’m gonna rip what little fabric you’ve got left on that stupid thing, and send you flying!!!”

Dashing and dancing across the pavement, his drill of a fist jabbed directly into Ryuko’s upper chest, causing an uproar of sheer power to sound throughout the arena, the many onlookers raising their arms up to shield themselves- and few up front being unable to do so, being sent flying backwards at the pulsating impact.

The two stood still. Nobody dares to move even a muscle... 

A crack.

Fukuroda smirked, his eyes knitting closer as he looked ahead at the half-naked Ryuko in front of him.

Another, louder crack.

Ryuko looked just as intently back, her face still flushed, but her sheer determination and tenacity shining through clear as day.

One more, even louder crack.

The crowd gasped in anticipation, each awaiting the possibility that even  _ more  _ skin could be shone-

Fukuroda’s glove began to crumble, instantly breaking apart.

“Wh-What?!”

Ryuko stood firm in front of him, her armor having not even suffered a single scratch.

“M-My glove!!!”

“Your shitty glove isn’t the only thing that turns into steel!” Ryuko shouted at him. “So does my outfit!!”

Fukuroda’s entire resolve began to crumble, his visage turning from a confident smirk to a childish sneer. He instantly dashed forward, his broken right glove and his still in-tact left raised up in anger.

He threw punch after punch, but no matter where or what he hit- not even a dent or scratch was left on the girl’s body.

“I-Impossible, impossible, impossible,  _ impossible!!! _ ”

“I’m not feeling your punches at all, you know.” Ryuko looked down on the boxer, who tried in vain to even kick her, each hit still being unable to do a single thing. 

Up on the student council’s tower, Nonon leaned forward over the edge, watching as the mentally defeated boxer kept trying to punch and kick his opponent. “What the hell?! What’s that outfit?!”

Inumuta leaned forward even more, his laptop already out, and his collar down. “Could it be…?”

Satsuki and Sumi unknowingly gave a hum of realization, as well as one certain teacher a fair amount of stories below.

Back down at the arena, a certain Mankanshoku at the sidelines gasped. “Oh wow, I didn’t know that you knew how to box too, Ryuko-chan!!” She chuckled, punching the air ecstatically for emphasis.

“I don’t think she does.” Lightning-Speed Mataro slid in next to his sister, looking up at her with an unamused look. “But man, that lady’s awesome… so totally awesome…  _ and so is this view!! _ ”

Mankanshoku bonked him on the head. “Don’t be weird, Mataro, that’s my friend you’re talking about!!”

Fukuroda’s desperation continued, his punches even faster and his kicks becoming even more prominent, he even tried to get a couple of cheeky hits in on her chest and groin area- only for it to have not a single effect whatsoever-  _ thank god _ .

Ryuko’s patience began to run thin, her eyebrows knitting closer and her eyes closed, her face continuing to grow even more flushed…

“So… I guess it’s my turn now, right?!”

She could feel her body begin to heat up- her highlights on her outfit and hair burst out with a massive scarlet light, and she could feel Senketsu on her body almost  _ stiffen _ , a massive surge of molten lava shooting through her body as the pure, raw power began to build.

Out of various points her body began to steam, her body getting hotter, her energy getting higher-

Ryuko shot forward, dodging and weaving Fukuroda’s flurrying counter attacks, grasping her sword tight as she flipped it around, holding onto the bladed end with no need to worry about cuts- as she smacked the handle of the sword  _ hard  _ into the boxer’s padded helmet, immediately knocking out his mouth-guard and a few teeth along with it.

“LEFT JAB!!”

As the boxer was knocked to one side, she quickly used her other hand to twist the sword around the opposite way, and grasping it with both, as she shoved the sword straight into the boxer’s lower abdomen. 

“RIGHT HOOK!!”

Fukuroda could barely even stand, hobbling in place due to the residual shocks of the hits on his body shot throughout all his nerves-

Slamming the sword onto the mat right underneath him, Ryuko held firm onto the handle.

“AND THEN- AN  **_UPPERCUT!!!_ ** ”

Launching the sword upward, it hit directly under his chin, launching him straight into the air, his gloves flying off his body along with his helmet and jacket- as he landed face-first into the mat, the majority of his lower teeth breaking clean out of his mouth along with spurts of blood.

Using the momentum of the swing, Ryuko’s crimson scissor was raised skyward- shimmering crimson stars shining off of the sunlight, as if it was emanating pure, unadulterated  _ power _ .

Spinning the blade around her hand, she began to build up speed, as she dashed across the arena-

“ **_AND NOW, FOR THE FINISHER- A RIGHT STRAIGHT!!!_ ** ”

As Fukuroda’s body was still in the air, Ryuko dashed straight underneath him, her sword cutting straight through with a trail of scarlet energy in its wake.

All of Fukuroda’s uniform was cut off in that same instant, his body twirling through the air as the world was shown his skimpy undergarments.

“This, Ryuko…” Senketsu began, her voice sharp and loud. “Is…”

**FIBER LOSS:**

**_SEN’I SOSHITSU!!!_ **

“H-HOLY SHIT!!” Sanageyama shouted from the sidelines, immediately making to stand up, watching as Fukuroda’s body landed limply on the arena floor.

“A Goku Uniform…?!” Gamagōri gasped.

“...Was defeated?!” Nonon finished, stood at his side with an equal expression of pure shock.

“So, that’s the power of the Scissor Blade, eh?” Inumuta mumbled to himself, readjusting his glasses.

As the remnants of Life Fiber woven fabrics dissipated into the air, one lone, crimson thread began to swirl through the air… slowly arcing its way directly into the massive, back vent of Senketsu’s upper half.

“No…” Sumi began, looking intently at the scene below.

“...There’s more to it than that.” Satsuki finished.

Twirling her blade around once more to build up energy, Ryuko quickly grabbed onto the limp body of Fukuroda, as she began to spin it- and her self, around and around in the middle of the arena, before quickly launching the body directly towards the top of the tower- directly towards Satsuki and Sumi.

“Now… to finish you off!!!”

With a massive metallic clang of a bat, the body shot through the air like a cannonball- easily beginning to close the distance between her and the elites on high.

Before the body managed to hit home, a living battalion of One-Star students formed a wall directly in front of the twin presidents, as Fukuroda’s body hit them, a spurt of blood shot out, which easily went through the cracks in their defenses, and was quickly made to be blocked by the now present wall of the Elite Four- minus Sanageyama.

Regardless of how many men were now blocking, the tiniest hint of blood managed to make its way through- and landed directly onto Satsuki’s right cheek, and a significant amount more on Sumi’s left.

Gamagōri and Nonon gasped as they turned to face their leaders.

Their twin calculating gazes still stayed on the half-naked Ryuko in the arena.

Satsuki raised one idle hand right up to her cheek, and quickly wiped away the blood with her thumb- not even causing a smear… and taking her attention away from the girl below for the first time since the match had started, she calmly used a finger to wipe away the blood that managed to land on Sumi’s face as well.

Albeit she didn’t show it externally, she gave a small, internal smile as Sumi slightly flushed at the action, before she turned herself back towards the ring.

Sanageyama gasped, internally cursing himself for not being able to help defend the presidents, and choosing to watch the match up close instead. “You bitch!!” He shouted at Ryuko. “How dare you?!”

Quickly starting to climb up the chain “ropes” of the arena, he kept one hand grasped onto his bamboo sword that was holstered on his back in a specially tailored sheath that blended right with his jacket, and the other on the metal chains, being just about to climb right over, when a voice from above called out.

“Enough.”

Satsuki looked down with a cold gaze, directly at the half-naked girl hundreds of feet below her.

“You there…” She began, watching at the corner of her eye as Sumi’s own gaze slowly began to match her own, but some underlying emotion was there- a blend of anger and sorrow.

“Where’d you get your hands on such an outfit?” Satsuki finished, her brows began to knit more, her frown getting deeper.

Using her heel, Ryuko kicked hard on the microphone that was left on the floor, a now noticeable dent that was made with an aforementioned heel-kick. “This is a keepsake… from my father.” She responded, her eyes covered in shadow, Senketsu’s massive, red eye staring directly at the questioner above.

Satsuki and Sumi’s eyes closed a bit. “What?” Satsuki responded, her brows knitting even more, Sumi’s following suit.

“And this Scissor Blade…” Ryuko started, raising her head up and the sword in front of her. “Was left behind by the same person who killed him.”

Pointing it’s tip directly at the twin presidents, Ryuko began to scowl.

“Now… you’re going to tell me… who this Scissor Blade belongs to…”

Her eyes were full of pure anger, her brows low with rage.

“Satsuki Kiryūin… and  _ Sumisorano Hoshi!!! _ ”

Sumi gasped, Satsuki’s anger internally flared…

And Ryuko really felt like an asshole for letting herself say  _ her _ name like that.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is the first time I've written anything for KLK and I genuinely hope it doesn't suck because I wrote out 5 chapters before I bothered to post them and I have nobody to proofread whoops
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!!! It'll be updated semi-consistently, don't worry!!


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